Treasure of Renaissance
by Majestik Moose
Summary: A simple treasure hunt turns into the adventure of a lifetime for Riley and Ben. Currently in the process of being rewritten, so it's a bit of a mess.
1. Chapter 1

**AN:** This would have been posted yesterday, but Heath Ledger's death put me into shock, so I was lacking in the creativity department.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own National Treasure and I'm not associated with anyone involved with it.

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**Chapter 1.**

Riley silently scolded himself for agreeing to fly all the way to South America. He hated airplanes--the thought of flying thousands of feet above ground had never settled with him. It always felt like the plane was suddenly going to explode or have some sort of technical difficulty that would result in his death. He'd watched enough television shows and movies to know that those rare occurrences actually happened from time to time. It didn't help his anxiety none to see the plane sitting in front of him, waiting to be filled with passengers, looked a little too much like the ones on television.

He fought back the urge to take off running in the opposite direction, knowing that his current position could have been prevented by a simple, negative response to his friend's question. The moment Ben Gates came running to him with a strange, gleeful expression etched across his face and a vague explanation about a new lost-treasure-adventure-thing, he was quick to agree and offer his service in any way possible. And he mentally chided with himself for responding so swiftly.

It didn't make any sense, why was it so hard to say no to your best friend? Even after a few minutes of thought, Riley was still unable to conjure a legitimate reply to his own inquiry. A million excuses swarmed through his head—millions of stories or mendacious reasons he hadn't thought of before when Ben initially asked him the one question he would never reject; a stomach virus had entered his system, there wasn't enough time in his schedule, his mother was ill, his computer needed a new hard drive, Marty McFly had once again messed with the space time continuum…

He made a face; he really needed to stop watching that movie.

"You didn't have to come, you know." Ben interrupted his thoughts, shouldering his bag and giving his young friend a pointed look. "I left the decision completely up to you."

Riley shrugged, trying to appear indifferent. "I'm fine."

"You're quiet, and that's definitely a sign you're not okay."

"I guess I'm just tired," Riley said evenly, struggling to keep his eyes from eyeing the massive aircraft suspiciously. "I needed to get out of that apartment anyway. Lack of sunlight has been known to cause trouble."

Ben's pace quickened once he glanced at his watch, and he paused before asking, "Are you ever planning to move out of there?"

"Doubt it," Riley answered, lowering his gaze to the pavement below. "It's a nice place. I don't think I'd be able to live anywhere else."

"You can live with us," Ben offered, his tone completely truthful.

Riley couldn't help but feel grateful at his friend's honesty, but of course, he would never admit to it. "Sorry, but the idea of spending eternity with your little tower of terror isn't a comforting thought."

Ben scoffed. "I find it hilarious that you're referring to my unborn child as a _tower of terror_."

"It's how I roll."

"You're rolling a little too critical there, buddy." Ben smirked.

"Abigail is the mother, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then your child might as well be spawned from Satan himself." Riley gave Ben a sideways glance, trying to discern his reaction to the statement. Fortunately, the older man didn't seem to take it seriously. "Trust me, Ben. Your kid is going to be a handful."

Ben didn't say anything, only shook his head in amusement and elbowed his short friend in the side rather unexpectedly, causing Riley to stumble out of his careful tread. For a moment, Riley thought of socking Ben in the arm—just to show him that he was a manly man, but thought better of it as they neared the plane entrance.

As they boarded the craft—rather halfheartedly on Riley's part—both friends were jostled by a particularly rude man who looked like death itself, and the duo gave each other a knowing look as they squeezed through the aisle and found their seats.

"I don't get people," Riley muttered as he plopped down into the predictably uncomfortable seat near the window. "Why do they have to be so rude about everything?" He raised his voice to properly imitate the sound of a nitpicking human. "_Give me this. Don't touch that. Get out of my way or I'll smack your little head silly_."

Ben smiled. "That's a nice impression."

"I do what I can."

A feminine voice sounded over the intercom, relating the standard procedures should anything happen during flight. Her voice was a little too perky for Riley's liking. "There may be fifty ways to leave your lover, but there are only four ways out of this airplane--"

Riley decided for his own sanity and benefit, that he would block out the rest of what the woman was saying.

He felt Ben nudge his arm. "We'll be okay," the treasure-hunter assured with a light smile.

Riley gave him a skeptical look. "Yeah? You positive on that?"

Ben arched an eyebrow. "Absolutely."

"Ever watch Lost?"

Ben laughed suddenly. "I've had the pleasure of indulging myself in that cryptic show, yes. But nothing like that is going to happen, Riley."

"Sure, sure," Riley waved a hand dismissively, his voice taking on a hysterical high-pitch. "That's exactly what Jack told Rose. Then, two seconds later, the plane is in two completely separate pieces, hurtling towards the ground at five hundred thousand miles an hour—then poof! Half of them are dead, some poor man gets eaten by an engine, there's a giant smoke monster that nobody seems to think about when they go to relieve themselves, a creepy man with freaky eyes named Ethan is a complete and total stalker, and polar bears! _Polar bears!_"

"Calm down," Ben grinned, finding the extended response to be somewhat humorous. "How about we take your mind off flying?"

Riley shifted in his seat as the plane began to take off. "What do you have in mind?" Part of him already knew the answer.

Almost instantly, Ben had his hands full of parchment and various articles printed directly from the Internet. Riley slumped in his chair, "you know I'm just going to fall asleep again."

"In these chairs?" Ben pounded on the hard-rock cushion for emphasis. "Even you couldn't get a decent amount of rest here."

"Oh please," Riley crossed his arms, trying to find a comfortable position. "You're talking to the man who conked out on your kitchen floor last Christmas."

"Don't remind me. Just try to stay awake, okay?"

"Yes, father."

Ben suddenly went into full-historian mode. "How much do you know about French expeditions?"

Riley frowned, clearing his head to recall the information about the French undertakings he'd learned in high school. "Nothing much," he said with a twinge of curiosity. "I remember something about French guys exploring West Africa."

"That was in the 1850's. Go back further."

Riley feigned a yawn. "I'm sorry, Beever. My mommy hadn't conceived me at that point."

"1783—ring any bells?"

"Nope. How about you enlighten me and stop quizzing me?"

"Someone's getting antsy," Ben muttered then flipped through his stack of papers before pulling out a single sheet. He handed the paper to Riley. "Read this out loud."

"What?" Riley took the paper and stared at it. "Why can't you read it?"

"I have cotton mouth. Now go on."

Riley made a mental note to retaliate later on. He cleared his throat and began to read, "_In 1783, French explorer Alexis Basset sailed across the Northern Atlantic towards South America carrying in his possession, an fortune worth billions. Once he arrived in Teresina, Brazil, Basset and his crew were raided and murdered by American sailor John Sennett. Sennett and his team pilfered every ounce of Bassett's fortune—all except for one single piece he left behind unintentionally._" Riley shook his head. "Alright. So this dude got jacked and we're going to find the treasure he left behind?"

Ben ignored him, shoving another piece of paper into Riley's hands. This particular piece depicted the image of a golden plate roughly the size of a DVD disk. Engraved in the coin's surface was an imprint of a snake, jaws wide open and teeth baring.

"What is this?" Riley asked as he studied the picture.

"It's a gold platter." Ben stated promptly. "Also known as; The Treasure of Renaissance." Ben revealed another thesis and placed it in Riley's steadily growing collection of papers.

This article contained a list of animal names: buffalo, snakes, bears, eagles, and at least a dozen more. Next to the names in fine printed text was a few descriptive words. Riley stared in confusion.

"And what do all of these words mean?"

Ben pointed to the snake column, his finger tracing along the pair of words next to the breed name. "See this?" Riley nodded. "These two words—"Rebirth" and "Transformation"—are both part of the many symbolic meanings used to illustrate the snake totem."

"Wait, a totem. What is that again?"

"A symbolic entity, usually in the form of an animal, that's been said to watch over a tribe or a group of people."

"Of course…continue."

"Now "Rebirth" is translated to "Renaissance" in French. The inscription on the plate Sennett left behind is a picture of a snake. And our goal is to find that plate."

Riley pieced all of the information together, and shook his head in disbelief as the remaining fragments clicked together. "So…we're flying all the way to South America to find an oversized coin?"

"An oversized coin worth millions," Ben corrected. "I know we don't need any extra money. We have everything we need, but I'm not doing this for my own personal gain. Any money we retract from this find is going straight to several charities and the gold plate itself will be given to a museum."

Riley gaped. "Why?"

Ben shrugged, averting his gaze briefly before returning eye contact. "This plate has been missing for centuries. People have died trying to find it, although the cause of their deaths is still unknown…" Ben trailed off while Riley struggled to keep himself from shrieking.

People actually died trying to find a stupid coin. How ridiculous was that? Riley gulped with an audible click, "Ben, do we even know where to look?"

"It's somewhere in Teresina, Brazil," Ben replied. "I've arranged a meeting with some experts of the subject and area. We're all in this together."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Riley faced his friend. "Other people are _involved?_ You didn't tell me that!"

Ben shrugged. "I didn't think it mattered."

"Mattered?" Riley chuckled dryly. "Of course it doesn't matter. Ian and his buddies were so nice to us in Boston. I'm sure these new guys we're teaming up with aren't like them _at all_."

"You shouldn't judge them," Ben said lightly. "They seem like nice guys. Abby even talked to them, and she approved."

Riley giggled suddenly, causing Ben to question his reason for doing so. Riley only shrugged. "I was just thinking…if Abigail were here she'd be trying to control us both. Like puppets."

Ben laughed. "She would, wouldn't she?" he paused. "I feel bad, leaving her behind like I did."

Riley rolled his shoulder backwards, trying to relieve the pain in his muscle from sitting in the same position for so long. He looked at Ben. "Hey, she's pregnant. It's not like she'd be able to make a trip like this anyway."

Ben nodded. "I just wish she hadn't thrown such a fit."

"It's Abigail. She always throws fits, and she's pregnant so her emotions are all like…..one after another. First she's happy and wants to hug you and then she's ticked off and chases you around the house with a broomstick."

Ben suppressed another laugh. The gentlemen in front of him, who was obviously trying to sleep, had been giving him incredulous looks every three minutes during his discussion with Riley.

He glanced at his watch. Nearly forty minutes had passed since they'd first boarded the plane. Only about four billion to go…

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To be continued.

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**AN:** Reviews are really appreciated—signed or not. :)


	2. Chapter 2

**AN:** A million thanks to those who left their opinions. I'm really grateful.

This chapter isn't exactly thrilling, but we're getting there.

Enjoy. :)

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**Chapter 2.**

The plane ride was nothing short of dull, but Riley found that he and Ben were quite fortunate that their ride was a non-stop flight to Brazil. They weren't constantly dropping off passengers at various airports only to pick up new ones, which made the trip more efficient and quicker. On the down side, the only time either of them was able to stretch their legs was when they had to use the bathroom—and even then there wasn't much room to shift positions.

After the craft rumbled to a gratified halt on the runway and the flight attendant thanked everyone for choosing their airline, Ben and Riley hobbled out of the plane rather clumsily, their legs refusing to cooperate due to lack of movement. Ben exited first, slowly descending down the fold-out staircase, and Riley followed at a slower pace, stumbling over his own feet and wavering from time to time.

Once their legs were once again in working condition, they gathered their belongings from the baggage claim and eventually stepped out into the crowded walkways of Teresina. Heat from the sun was immediately felt on their exposed skin.

"Ben, please tell me the hotel has air conditioning."

"It does," Ben confirmed, resulting in a sigh of relief from Riley. "And it's only a few blocks away, so we can walk."

Riley followed quickly as Ben crossed the street and began to walk towards their destination atop the weathered pavement. He busied himself by studying the surrounding landscape. Most of the buildings were intact but held some sort of damage; a small restaurant seemed sturdy enough to survive a tornado, but a few shingles on the roof suggested otherwise, and an apartment building gave the appearance of lavish fixtures fit for a king, yet the people walking in and out of the revolving door looked as though some disease ailed them.

His concentration was cut short as he felt a bead of sweat roll down his temple. He swiped it away quickly, glaring up at the sun as if daring it to diminish as quickly as possible. The blazing heat soon became overwhelming, and he came to the conclusion that he would actually do something senseless just to obtain a bottle of water. He forced his brain to focus on something entirely different—the "experts" who Ben claimed were totally trustworthy and legitimate.

Riley didn't buy it.

It wasn't often in the movies that you see the secondary characters as a reliable companion. It just didn't happen. Something always changed before the climax of the story; either the secondary character turned against the main character, or the secondary character pulled a Chuck Norris and beat everyone in his path to the ground before running off never to be seen again, only to be hunted by the main character who inevitably restores their former glory.

Common sense, really,

It wasn't that he didn't trust Ben's judgment, because he did. Nothing on earth could change that. But neither of them ever seemed to attract friendly faces. It was always someone who was after the money involved in whatever it was they were doing.

"We're here." Ben broke his train of thought.

The hotel was large and modern, nothing too fancy or upbeat about it. A large mass of thick trees surrounded it, some of the limbs brushing up against the solid base of the building.

Together they entered the main hall and were greeted by the receptionist who, after acquiring some information, gave them their room number and key.

Riley wasted no time in climbing the staircase all the way to the second floor, since the elevator was broken, and he distinctly heard Ben trudging along behind him. Room 118 was the last door on the left of a long corridor, and it was somewhat eerie. Ben slid the key into the lock and with a click, the door popped open. Riley charged into the room at full speed, dropping his bags at once and making a beeline for the window on the far side of the room where the air conditioner sat, already plugged in and blowing out a brisk air.

"Oh God, this feels so good," Riley mumbled, sitting directly in front of the wonderful machine.

He heard Ben chuckle behind him. He turned around and spoke, "I'm serious. This is like heaven in a tiny mechanized box."

"I believe you," Ben conversed, also tossing his bags onto the floor. "This place actually isn't as bad as I thought it would be."

"What? Did you think we'd get some rat-infested hole instead of a comfortable, ice cold bedroom?" Riley stuck his face in front of the air vents, his hair blowing in different directions.

He felt Ben shrug as the older man wedged in beside him. "I don't know what I expected, but it definitely wasn't this." Ben flicked on the television using the remote he'd picked up from the bedside table. An old sitcom buzzed to life on the screen.

"Full House. Who knew?" Riley smiled and focused his attention on the TV for a moment before returning to the air conditioner.

The two of them spent a good five minutes sitting in front of the window, a fresh air rustling through their clothes as the comical sounds of Jesse Katsopolis and Joey Gladstone echoed behind them on the small television. After that, they spent another three minutes trying to figure out how to turn the machine off. The power switch had jammed, and with a swift ninja-like kick from Riley, it turned off instantly.

"See?" Riley thrust his arms outward at his success. "I'm a genius."

"I think you broke it."

Riley collapsed onto one of the beds. "Either way, I turned it off." He paused before asking, "So where are these guys we're supposed to work with?"

Ben looked at his watch. "Not sure. I spoke with one of them on the phone--Adam Sennett. He said he'd meet us in the lobby downstairs. But I didn't see anyone." He shrugged. "I guess they'll be smart enough to ask if we've checked in yet. Until then, I guess we can just hang out here."

Riley stopped listening after Ben had mentioned the man's name. "Adam Sennett? Isn't Sennett the last name of the guy who robbed the other guy in 1783?"

Ben nodded. "Yeah, they're related. John Sennett was one of his ancestors"

"Perfect." Riley stared at the ceiling in thought. Ian's face leapt to his mind. "Please tell me he's not British."

"Nope. He's German."

"Oh," Riley nodded attentively. "That's reassuring."

It seemed that everyone they came into contact with ended up betraying them in the end, and the one doing the betraying was never American. It was like some weird conspiracy.

"I know what you're thinking, Riley." Ben said softly, sitting down on the bed as well. "But Adam isn't like Ian. He won't hurt us."

Riley nodded in a sarcastic manner as he propped himself up on his elbows. Of course he wasn't like Ian. He shook his head and flipped through the channels with the remote, keeping his thoughts focused on something other than the feeling of dread settling in his stomach.

Ben knew for a fact that their current treasure hunt would not end up like the previous. Adam was not Ian. Granted, he had not yet seen the man face to face. But he would know if Adam was lying, right?

Despite his resolve to believe in Adam's benevolence, he knew Riley had a valid point. There was no telling whether someone is suddenly going to turn on you or not, but he had a good feeling about him. He sounded nice enough on the phone, and the fact that he was related to John Sennett gave them even more of an advantage to finding the treasure. Adam knew more about its history, and maybe even the possible whereabouts of its location.

He sprawled out on his own bed, sliding his body underneath the fresh sheets. The sound of various television broadcasts suddenly ceased, and Ben assumed that Riley was also going to bed.

After a few minutes of careful thought, he slowly felt his eyelids become heavier. Before too long, he was sleeping peacefully—only to be awoken by a harsh pounding on the door. His eyes snapped open, and he blinked several times to clear away the fogginess. Groaning at the protest of his back as he crawled out of bed, he glanced over at Riley, who continued in his slumber, then walked over to the door.

Half-expecting it to be a maid, he turned the knob and stared groggily at the person before him.

"Adam?"

The man in question smirked a little. "Sleeping on the job, Benny? You know that won't do."

"Call me Ben," he replied stiffly, moving aside so Adam and his five companions could enter the room. "I didn't think you'd be here so early."

"We were in the neighborhood," Adam replied, looking around the room with interest. "Figured we'd stop by and introduce ourselves."

Riley seemed to have roused in the commotion, and now sat on the bed with a baffled expression. He looked to Ben for some explanation as to why there were six strangers in their hotel room.

"Uh," Ben crossed the room to stand closer to Riley. "Adam, this is Riley Poole, a good friend of mine."

Adam nodded and looked Riley over. "Nice to meet you."

Riley smiled weakly in response, still too weary to conjure a voiced reply.

Adam gestured to each of the five men as he spoke. "That's Adrian, Alfred, Dennis, Leon and Ralph. They're with me."

The group of burly men smiled warmly, and Ben returned the gesture with equal kindness. Adam stepped over to the potted plant sitting at their bedside table and plucked innocuously at the leaves, his voice low. "How much do you know already?" he asked.

Ben paused briefly, and then went on into detailed description of what he knew of the Renaissance treasure. It only took a few minutes, and his voice had taken on the tone of practiced speech. Once he was finished, Adam's expression was thoughtful.

"Well done," he said finally. "You've done your research. Although, there is one _small_ detail you might not know of…"

Ben waved a hand to encourage Adam to continue, and the German descendent swallowed thickly. "Alexis Basset was more than a French explorer. He was also an expert on amphibians—reptiles and such. A Herpetologist is what you might call him today. He had this…_crazy_ fetish for snakes."

There was a moment of silence, in which none of the eight men standing in the tiny room said anything. Adam looked uneasily at Ralph, who nodded his head as if to assure Adam of something. He eventually continued, "The place where Alexis Basset was attacked and killed is about thirty miles away from here. It's in a deep wooden area by the Tocantins River. I believe that what we're looking for is in that general region."

"But wouldn't someone have found it by now?" Ben questioned, slightly demoralized by the man's obvious fear.

Adam laughed nervously. "Only a handful of people even go into those woods. It's not exactly safe."

Ben furrowed his brow in thought. "So when do we leave?"

"The day after tomorrow," Adam motioned for his men to head out the door, and they obeyed without question. "Pack whatever you feel necessary. It's at least twenty degrees hotter in the forest than it is out in the open. We'll be out there for a while. Meet us by the river around seven."

Riley suddenly piped up from the bed, "Wait." Adam froze, turning around to look at the techie. "What kind of snakes did Basset like, exactly?

Ben saw the logic in the question. Whatever lived in those woods would be relatively close to whatever species of snake Basset was fond of.

Adam's reply was made offhandedly. "Anacondas."

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To be continued.

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**AN:** Generally, the Tocantins River isn't as encased with trees as I make it out to be in this story. So just use your imagination. :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3.**

The next morning, Ben awoke at an earlier time than intended. Thoughts of the upcoming voyage into the Tocantins forest plagued his mind. A very large part of him was excited; traveling into unknown territory and making new discoveries is what he lived for. But Adam's comment about the anaconda's forced him to rethink the situation. He didn't know very much about them, but he did know they were dangerous.

Danger was the last thing he wanted to drag Riley into. Both of them had seen enough of that to last a lifetime. The thought of Riley becoming injured on his account was daunting, and a pang of guilt stabbed at his chest.

Rolling out of bed, he quickly pulled on a gray t-shirt and a faded pair of jeans. After cleaning himself up, he dug through Riley's suitcase until he found the black laptop the techie kept with him at all times. He set it on the bed carefully and turned it on. As it loaded, he fixed himself a bowl of cereal and ate slowly until the computer screen was fully loaded.

He brought up a search bar, and typed in "anacondas". The results were overwhelming, and the first website he clicked on seemed to have a decent amount of information.

After clicking around a few websites, he came to one that seemed to be useful. It showed several photos and had a good amount of information. He read each paragraph thoroughly and studied each photo. He already knew a little bit about anacondas, but not much. The website he was at was providing a handful of useful information:

_The anaconda is the largest snake in the world. When weight and length are considered, the anaconda can reach up to 30 feet (9 meters) and 550 pounds (227 kilograms). The green anaconda is found in both Northern Africa and South America, and is also a member of the snake family known as constrictors. These are not venomous, and cannot kill a prey by delivering venom through a bite. Instead, constrictors wrap their bodies around prey and squeeze until it stops breathing. _

_Most of them resort to a variety of mammals, but there are a few reported cases of anacondas attacking humans. This happens rarely, and is usually only an occurrence when the anaconda feels threatened or endangered. _

_To hunt, the anaconda lies at the surface of a swamp or river until a likely prey emerges. Then, it will spring from the water and grab hold of the unsuspecting creature and squeeze. When hunting out of water, anacondas normally drape themselves over tree branches and land on the prey once in sight, and the same process of constriction takes place._

A loud crash caused Ben to jump. He looked over toward the source of the sound, and saw that Riley was no longer in his bed—but on the floor. He stifled a laugh, and watched in bitter amusement as his young friend struggled with the offending blankets wrapped around his legs. After a few minutes, Riley successfully freed himself from the tangle of sheets and pulled himself to his feet.

"Good morning," Ben minimized the anaconda webpage and turned to his friend.

Riley mumbled an incoherent reply and salvaged a granola bar from the cabinet above the refrigerator. He bit into it slowly, and then plopped down onto the bed. He swallowed, looked at Ben, and asked nonchalantly, "What's up?"

Ben shook his head. "Research. Did you know anacondas kill by constriction?"

Riley coughed a little, then set his granola bar aside. "I do now."

"Check this out," Ben reopened the page and began to read, "_Most of them resort to a variety of mammals, but there are a few reported cases of anacondas attacking humans. This happens rarely, and is usually only an occurrence when the anaconda feels threatened or endangered."_

"Perfect," Riley smiled. "The anacondas won't harm us, seeing how we're just entering its habitat with a few guns and what-not. No reason to worry at all."

"Adam will take care of the snakes, should we run into any," Ben said, closing out of the website completely. "All we have to do is find the treasure."

"Right, and we can trust Adam with a gun because…?"

"He's reliable," Ben gave Riley a poignant look. "Why don't you trust him?"

Riley shrugged. "He's German. I've learned to never trust people with accents."

Ben hardly saw the logic. "Abigail has an accent."

"My point exactly."

* * *

Nearly two blocks east of the hotel Ben and Riley currently resided in; Adam sat contentedly with his five team members within the small confinements of Leon's home. The six men were seated around a wooden table in the dead center of the kitchen, each of them chatting aimlessly with one another until Alfred—a rather large man with a suspicious tattoo on his arm—broke the peaceful converse.

"How are we going to do this?" Alfred asked, shooting a curious look in his leader's direction.

Adam took a long swig of his soda before answering. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," Alfred clasped his hands behind his head, leaning back in the chair. "How are we going to nab this treasure? That Ben fellow seems kind of clever—the other kid doesn't seem as educated. What was his name again? Rory? Richard…?"

"_Riley_," Adam corrected. "And don't underestimate him. If he's with Gates, there's a good chance he knows more than any of us. Plus, it's the small ones you need to look out for."

"I say we just club 'em both and take the damn treasure," Dennis growled, arms crossed over his chest. "What's the deal with 'earning their trust'? I don't want to get all touchy with either of them."

"We can't be that obvious," Adam reminded, crushing his soda can and tossing it into the trash bin. "If we're to get anywhere with these guys, then we may as well start out by pretending to like them."

Alfred scoffed. "You never answered my question."

"Which was?"

"How the hell are we going to trick two history-buffs into handing over the treasure?"

Adam chewed at his lip thoughtfully. "We're going to be late," he said finally.

"What?" Leon stared incredulously. "And how does that benefit us?"

"I told them to meet us by the river at seven, correct?" Everyone nodded, and Adam continued slowly. "Instead of meeting them at the designated time, we're going to arrive an hour ahead and find the treasure without them."

"Ben isn't an idiot," Ralph put in. "And neither is the kid with the glasses. Both of them will realize we've tricked them before too long, and they'll find us eventually."

"Exactly," Adam gave a solemn nod. "Ben expects us to bring the weapons: guns, knives, and anything else that can protect us from the beasts living in that forest."

"Like the anaconda?" Adrian questioned, almost timidly.

Adam nodded again. "He won't bother to bring his own, since he's under the impression that we'll handle any dangerous situation thrown in our direction. And as you mentioned Ralph, Gates and his little friend will come after us once they've realized what happened. Both of them will be completely defenseless."

"But how can we be sure the anaconda will attack them?" Dennis asked, eyes narrowing as he thought more into the subject.

"I've said this a million times before," Adam sighed. "The Tocantins River is one of the most unvisited places in this area. No one even thinks about nearing it for one solitary reason: the anaconda."

Leon's brow furrowed. "I don't follow…"

"Anacondas only attack people when they feel threatened or pursued. Now how do you think the snake will react when two gawky humans come trudging into its home unannounced? Not one single person has ventured into those woods for years, and Ben and Riley will appear as a threat the moment they enter. They won't get far at all."

* * *

Riley flipped through television channels without really paying attention to what was being broadcasted. He was in a blank state at this point, his mind focused solely on the research Ben was currently doing. Why Ben found anacondas to be so interesting was an enigma all in itself. Snakes gave him the creeps—ever since he was a kid and he found that worm in his shoe, there had been an irrational fear of slithery-critters plaguing his conscious mind. Plus, he'd seen plenty enough television programs and documentaries on how deadly snakes could be.

Adam's presence in the whole deal wasn't helping either. Riley knew the man was no good—that much could easily be told from simply being in the same room as him. There was a frightening atmosphere that surrounded him, and it seemed to raise his suspicions about the man's intentions.

He looked over at Ben, who was staring at the computer screen intensely.

"Ben, will you give it a rest?" Riley sighed, sinking back into the soft fabric of his bed. "The computer will be there later. And how can you even stand to research those things? They're creepy."

"It's just a precaution," Ben said, turning the laptop off completely. "Besides, they're only snakes."

"Yeah, snakes that kill people."

A light chuckle emanated from Ben, and Riley shook his head at his friend's needless amusement. He didn't find the situation to be that hilarious, especially when thirty foot snakes were possibly involved.

He reached for the remote again and turned the television off before sliding his body underneath the decorous bed coverings. The sun had disappeared at least five hours ago, and the overall laziness of his day was finally starting to take its toll. Sighing heavily, he closed his eyes and felt himself succumb to a restless slumber.

* * *

To be continued.

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**AN:** Sorry for the shortness of these chapters. I also apologize for the informational paragraphs on anacondas contained within this chapter, but it was somewhat necessary as the reptile will play a pretty big part in this fic.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN:** Once again, thank you so much to those of you who are leaving their thoughts. It really means a lot.

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**Chapter 4.**

The awakening Riley received the following morning was nothing short of annoying. A pillow was being repeatedly slammed into his head, and an obnoxious finger continuously prodded at his sides. Part of him was aware of Ben's voice telling him to wake up, but the more dominant part told him to ignore his friend. A few threats were uttered from both men, and with much vigor on Ben's part, Riley opened his eyes.

"What could you possibly want at six in the morning?" he grumbled.

"Have you forgotten already?" Ben questioned amusedly. "Or are you just trying to gain a few more precious moments of sleep?"

_Yes._ "No."

Riley buried his head underneath his pillow, completely blocking out the numerous threats Ben was promising. After a few minutes of repetitive verbal warnings, Riley felt Ben's hand close around his arm and suddenly, he was on the floor.

He glared up at Ben. "You're a jerk."

"You sound exactly like Abigail in the morning."

Riley pulled himself to his feet. "You do realize you just compared us to a married couple?"

Ben smiled, crossing the room to retrieve some breakfast the two of them could eat. "Yes I am aware, _sweetie_." He fished around the cabinet for a moment, then pulled out two honey buns and tossed one to Riley.

He caught it easily and began to unwrap it. "We are so getting a divorce."

Ben chuckled, and the rest of breakfast was lost in silence as the two devoured their lunch cakes, both of them lost in thought. Riley couldn't wrap his mind around the fact they were about to enter an uncharted forest inhabited by who-knows-what in less than twenty minutes. It was quite unnerving, to say the least.

"I've rented us a car," Ben broke the silence, chewing slowly. "We'll use it to get to the river."

Riley nodded. "Does it have a radio?"

"Oh please," Ben tossed the wrapper of his cake into the garbage. "Don't think for one second I'm going to let you blast that clamorous noise you call music."

"It's not clamorous!" Riley protested. "Besides, it's not even going to be up to me what we listen to. Whatever's playing on the first station I turn to will be fine."

"What if it's opera?"

"Then the entire radio is going out the window."

Ben shrugged. "Fair enough." He stood, tossing a blue duffel bag in Riley's direction. "Get dressed quickly. We don't have much time."

_Ooh. That sounded dramatic,_ Riley thought as he tossed his wrapper into the garbage as well and then proceeded to unzip the bag. He pulled out a gray t-shirt and a pair of torn jeans, swiftly changing into them once Ben was out of sight. As he examined himself in the mirror, he made a face at the current catastrophe that was his hair. He made a comment as Ben exited the bathroom, a new outfit also sporting his body. "Ben, I don't think the public will react terribly well to my Don King hairstyle. I have a growing suspicion that it may strike fear into their very hearts."

Ben seemed unfazed by the notion. "Don't worry so much about your hair,'" he said. "If you take the time to fix it now, it'll just go back to the way it was the minute we step outside. Humidity tends to make things worse, especially hair."

Riley let out a huff, folding his arms over his chest. "At least I'm not balding."

"Oh, you will someday," Ben promised with a smile. "And when that day comes, I'll be right at your side, reminding you of this very moment."

"Are you serious? You'll be dead by then."

Riley let out a tiny squeak as he ducked out of the way of the pillow Ben had chucked at his head. He darted out of the room, running fast enough to blow both Forrest Gump's leg braces _and_ his shin bones off at the same time. Ben followed closely behind, and the woman at the front desk gave them an odd look as both men burst out of the hotel like a couple of children.

"Stop running!" Riley skidded to a halt, and he stared up at the sky bleakly. "If we run out here, we die."

Ben wiped at the bead of sweat already rolling off his forehead. "Worst case scenario: we get dehydrated."

"And _then_ we die." Riley confirmed. "So where's the car?" He looked around, seeing no distinct vehicle aside from a black Jeep Wrangler sitting to their left.

"You're looking at it."

Riley stared at the Jeep curiously, and then turned to Ben with an unreadable expression. "Could you get any more drawn into this whole adventure thing?"

"What?" Ben held his hands up in defense. "It's the only thing I could afford. Plus, they said it does wonders on rough terrain."

"I think you're forgetting the ending of Jurassic Park: overturned hippy-colored Jeep, two incredibly annoying kids trapped underneath and a dinosaur trying to eat their faces. Fortunately, in our case, it'll be an anaconda instead of a dinosaur."

Ben scoffed as he climbed into the driver's seat. "I compare us to a married couple, and you get upset over it. Now you've gone and compared us to two bratty kids who couldn't follow a simple instruction involving a flashlight. How is that fair?"

"It's not," Riley admitted, sliding into the passenger side. "It's just funnier when I do it."

"You're impossible," Ben growled, but the tone was disregarded by a grin threatening to split his face in two.

Riley leaned his head back against the seat, closing his eyes as the Jeep rumbled to life. His previous statement of turning on the radio was completely forgotten as blissful darkness soon swept over him.

Riley was, once again, awoken with the conscious thought that a finger was poking at his side mercilessly, or rather; a hand was shaking his shoulder. Either way, his awakening was nothing short of abrupt and unanticipated. He glanced out the window, finding the new environment to be a little intimidating. A mass of thick trees surrounded them, leaves and branches spreading out to form a type of canopy overhead.

He cleared his throat and blinked away the drowsiness. "Where are we?"

"The Tocantins River," Ben answered simply, unbuckling his seatbelt.

Riley did the same. "Where's Adam?"

Ben shrugged. "I guess he's not here yet."

_And that's not at all conspicuous,_ Riley thought to himself bitterly. "So what do we do?"

"We wait."

He sighed. "For how long?"

"As long as it takes."

Ben climbed out of the car, and Riley followed the action unobtrusively. Once look around and he already detested the place. The river was obviously deep, and its color wasn't all too promising. Brown and murky, the bottom not even visible as various twigs and rubble floated downstream. Something flashed in the corner of his vision, but when he turned to perceive it, it was gone.

* * *

Adam carefully maneuvered around a fallen tree branch and looked back over his shoulder at the five men trailing behind him. They had succeeded in moving ahead of Gates by at least an hour. Hopefully, the historian and his friend would turn around the minute they realized no one was coming. If not, then a future gathering was evidently in order, as Ben would more than likely follow in pursuit.

His foot caught onto a rooted branch, and he would have fallen face-first into the ground if it hadn't been for the quick reflex and steady arms of Dennis. After nodding his thanks and appreciation, he trekked on through the hazardous forest.

The whereabouts of the treasure were unknown, but a feeling in the pit of his stomach told him that he would find it the minute he grew closer to its location. Once he unearthed the precious medallion, he had made an honest pledge to split the money that came from it with each member of his team.

Before his thoughts could dwell any longer on the main goal, a hand suddenly gripped his shoulder and pulled him backwards rather unexpectedly. He fought to maintain his balance, and then whirled around to face Ralph, who still had a hand on his shoulder.

"What?" he asked incredulously.

Ralph seemed unaffected by the glare he was receiving. He nodded at the area in front of Adam. "Look."

Adam did as he was told and looked at the area in front of him. A small wire extended from the trunk of one tree to another. He followed the wire's length and saw that it had an extension to the top of one of the trees. At the base of this extension, was a type of fork entwined with sharp-pointed ranches. Above that, was a net.

"A trap?" Adam questioned, slightly unbelieving of the sight in front of him.

Ralph nodded. "If you'd taken another step, you'd be singing with the angels, buddy."

Adam's face flushed, and he averted his gaze momentarily. "Thanks," he mumbled.

"Don't mention it." Ralph smiled.

Adrian stepped forth, eyes set with determination. "It's probably best if I go in front," he said. "At least that way we lessen the chance of you killing yourself with your damned carelessness." Seeing the hesitation in Adam's eyes, Adrian lightened his tone. "I'll be fine," he assured.

Nodding slowly, Adam allowed Adrian the privilege of leading the group.

"I thought you said this place isn't popular with people," Leon speculated subtly. "Who set the trap?"

Ralph answered before anyone could even think of a response. "Hunters," he said simply. "They set up traps for animals to avoid being attacked by something. Just watch your step, there's undoubtedly more."

After considering what Ralph had said, the five of them decided to refrain from speaking to one another and concentrate on their surroundings. The deafening silence between them proved to be successful in avoiding future traps, but the digital clock on Adam's wrist barely made it past the 8:15 mark when a thunderous crunch sounded above them.

Simultaneously raising their heads to observe the sudden clamor, each one of them ducked after a moment in order to avoid the hand-crafted arrow flying towards them.

Except for Ralph.

He saw the sharpened object a second too late as it grazed the side of his head. Adam watched in pure shock as Ralph stumbled backwards into a tree, raised a hand to the shredded mass that had once been his ear, and screamed.

* * *

Riley jumped, eyes wide as he looked around worriedly. "What was that?"

Ben was already out of the car. Riley sighed, not wanting to step out into the blazing heat, but eventually followed pursuit as Ben proceeded to jog toward the tree line. Both men paused, staring into the forest with anticipation.

Another scream echoed that sounded more like a cry of protest. Ben moved forward, intentions bent on darting into the jungle at full speed, until Riley caught his arm. "Ben, come on, be serious. We can't go in there."

Ben shrugged out of his grasp. "Riley, you heard it too. If someone's hurt, we can't just ignore them."

"But we have no weapons, food, or anything!" Riley objected, taking a step back. "Just forget it. We'll go back to town, and get someone else to help whoever's in there."

"If you're not coming, then wait for me in the car."

Without so much as a goodbye, Ben entered the forest, stepping over broken limbs and pushing aside the large leaves swatting him in the face. Riley stared after him, mouth slightly open as he weighed his options. Either wait in the car for God knows how long, or follow Ben into the jungle and at least have someone to keep him company.

He shrugged then, entering the thick forest with less hesitance than before. Staying in the car seemed like the safest and most sane option, but he never had been one to do the most rational activity. He caught up with Ben, and the elder man gave him a gentle smile, indicating that he was pleased with Riley's decision to follow him. They stayed close to the river, using it as a guide in case they needed to make their way back to the car.

Vines, logs, gnarled roots, wet leaves, and the muggy air proved to be definite obstacles as they made their way across the terrain. The mere act of hopping over a fallen branch had them both exhausted. Within minutes, the two of them were leaning against the trunks of two separate trees, panting heavily.

"Too much running," Riley panted, swiping away the strands of hair plastered to his forehead.

Ben smiled wistfully. "I guess you had one too many muffins back at the house then, huh?"

Riley feigned a laugh. "You're _hilarious_, Ben. But as I recall, the last time Abigail made muffins, I didn't get a single one because you had crammed them all down your throat."

Shrugging, Ben smiled again. "Touché."

Riley moved away from the tree, walking over to the river and staring into the murky depths as he continued to control his breathing. He stood at the very edge, the toes of his converse shoes almost reaching the water. He stood there idly, somewhat transfixed by the constant flow of the river's current. It was peaceful even, relaxing.

But then something moved.

It was hardly noticeable, and he blinked rapidly to be sure the heat wasn't playing tricks on him. After a moment, he'd convinced himself that he was seeing things, but that speculation ran short when the water began to stir. His stomach twisted into a knot as the large, boulder-sized head of a giant snake glared up at him. Heart pounding, he took a step back.

"Ben…"

The anaconda bobbed its head up and down, as if it were assessing the potency of its prey.

His voice was a little bit higher this time, "Ben?"

No response. He continued to slowly move away from the observant reptile.

"Ben!" he hissed finally, preparing himself to take off in a dead run if needed.

"What?" Ben's voice was laced with confusion, as well as a hint of unease.

Before Riley could respond, Ben's breath hitched when he finally laid eyes on the massive snake. "Riley, don't move," he ordered softly

Riley obeyed, freezing in his tracks. The snake moved forward a little, eyes locked with Riley's and full of intimidation. The techie could feel his knees begin to shake, and he involuntarily took a large step back.

The snake lunged.

"Riley!"

A bark-like growl followed the loud outburst, and Riley felt himself being sidelined by his friend. They both tumbled to the ground; Ben covering Riley's much smaller frame with his own body. Glancing back over his shoulder, Riley noted that the anaconda was twisting around a tree and was making its way towards them—fast.

He pushed himself to his feet with more than a little help from Ben, and the two of them sprinted through the jungle at inhuman speed. Riley could feel his breath coming in short gasps and his legs turn to jell. He urged himself to run faster. Branches and vines swiped him across the face, leaving small lacerations on his pallid skin. He ignored the momentary pain and propelled himself forwards, knees nearly buckling under the extreme pressure he was putting on them.

The ominous slithering behind him seemed to cease, and he finally allowed himself to stop and catch his breath. Ben was standing not three feet away, face pale from the excessive running but appeared to be fine otherwise. Lungs aflame and feet aching, Riley exhaled slowly and turned around, nearly jumping at the sight which greeted him.

_Click._

The silver barrel of a Colt 1911 was pressed against his temple.

* * *

To be continued.

* * *

**AN:** A little nervous about this chapter, but hopefully it turned out alright. Reviews, as always, are appreciated.


	5. Chapter 5

You guys are lucky. :) Because I normally wouldn't be posting the next chapter until next weekend. But I'm in a creative mood, so all you lovely reviewers get a little treat.

So here's the next chapter. It's another Riley POV. Hope you enjoy. :)

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Riley felt his heart skip a beat at the sudden appearance of one of Adams evil friends. He couldn't remember the name of the slab of beef that held the gun; it was either Dennis or Adrian. Or it was Alfred. Heck, for all he knew it could have been Adam. His main concern was whether or not the beefy man would pull the trigger or not.

"Lower your gun, Leon. It's only Riley." Adams voice sounded from a ways away.

Riley felt his body relax when Beefy Leon lowered the gun. He saw Adam was kneeled over by a tree holding a once white towel to somebody's head. The towel had a deep red color smeared all over it. Blood.

"Adam." Ben said with an even tone. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to stop Ralph's head from bleeding." Adam said. "And you?"

"We almost got eaten by an anaconda." Riley butted in. "So thanks for waiting for us."

Adam motioned for another guy to hold the towel to Ralph's head. Dennis walked over and took Adam's place. Adam stood up and walked over to the two friends.

"Sorry." Adam apologized. "We arrived at the river a round 6:30. We heard shouting in the forest and thought it might be you two. So we headed out to investigate. I guess we were wrong." Adam shrugged.

Riley had a strong feeling that Adam was lying. But he kept his mouth shut, for once.

"What happened?" Ben asked.

Adam looked back at Ralph with a sigh. "We ran into some trouble. One of us set off a trap. An arrow flew out of nowhere and sliced Ralph's ear off."

Riley's jaw dropped to the ground. Ben's eyes grew wide.

"Is he okay?" Ben continued to ask questions much to Riley's annoyance.

"I hope so." Adam bit his lower lip and ran a hand through his blonde hair.

Riley couldn't believe it. Since when did the bad guys care about each other?

"I think he needs a doctor." Dennis piped up as he peeked under the towel then quickly replaced it at the sight of blood. "He's not doing so well."

"You can use our car." Ben said. He tossed Dennis the keys.

"Thanks, Ben." Adam said with a fake smile that nobody seemed to notice except for Riley.

"Yeah. And when one of us gets our foot ripped off we'll just walk fifty miles to the nearest hospital." Riley said with his usual sarcastic tone.

Ben shot him a warning glance before refocusing his attention on Adam. Seeing that Ben had his back turned, Riley stuck out his tongue and made a face. Apparently Adam saw it, because he laughed out loud.

Ben spoke without even turning around. "Riley, if you make another face I swear your laptop is going to accidentally delete all the files it contains."

Riley wrinkled his nose. "Good. Half of that crap is yours anyway."

When Ben didn't respond and continued talking to Adam, Riley mentally praised himself.

Adam clapped his hands together. "Well, seeing how we're back together. Why don't we continue our search?" He said with another smile.

"Let's do it." Ben nodded.

Dennis helped the injured Ralph to his feet. "Where's your car?" Dennis asked.

"Just follow the river south." Ben replied.

"You can't miss it. It looks like something out of a cheap 90's film." Riley couldn't help but make another sarcastic remark. It came natural for him, and it resulted with a swift smack in the chest with the back of Ben's hand.

Dennis made his way towards the river along with Ralph while the rest of the crew got situated. After a few minutes, they were ready to continue searching. Adrian once again led the way, followed by Adam, Alfred, Ben, Riley, and Leon.

"So Ben." Adam said as he ducked under a branch. "Do you know where this treasure might be located?"

Ben shook his head. "I'm not sure. I read somewhere that peoples during the time period in which Alexis Basset was alive usually their belongings in hatches underground."

Riley furrowed his brow and ducked under the same branch. They flew on an airplane. They were lost in what felt like a jungle. And there were hatches underground. This little adventure was becoming more and more like Lost.

Adam nodded, thinking. "This is a large area. The trees stretch on for miles. How will we know where to look for it?"

"Hatches are usually in areas where the ground isn't covered with roots and such. SO wherever there's open area, there's likely to be a hatch."

"What if it's locked?" Leon asked from the back of the line.

"Then we'll have to figure out a way to get inside."

"Could always pull a John Locke and blow up the stupid thing…" Riley mumbled.

"What was that, Riley?"

"Nothing, Ben."

They continued walking for what seemed like hours. It was getting late, and the bugs were starting to come out. Riley swatted at mosquitoes for hours and ended up accidentally smacking a few of Adam's mean friends in the process. This earned him a few glares and a nice poke in the back. However, one mosquito was really annoying him, it was trying to fly into his eye and buzzed loudly in his ear. He raised his hand and gave it a good swat, sending the bug flying and also smacking Leon in the arm.

Leon glared at him. "I swear, kid. If you don't stop hitting me I'm going to kick our ass all the way to Kingdom Come."

"You know, my Dad used to tell me the same thing. To this day I still have no idea where Kingdom Come is." Riley gave a shrug.

Leon only glared at the computer geek and gave him a hard shove, sending the techie forward and colliding into Ben, who bumped into Alfred who bumped into Adam who bumped into Adrian. They were like dominoes. And before they knew it, everyone but Leon was sprawled on the ground in a tangle of arms and legs. Riley was on the top and he found this incredibly awkward.

Adrian started to swear in German. Then he spoke in English. "Get off! My face is getting sandwiched between Alfred and something that tastes like metal."

_That_ sparked Ben's curiosity. "Metal?"

Riley finally managed to crawl off of the pile of humans. He gave Leon a death look and helped Ben up. He let Adrian, Alfred and Adam pick themselves up. He didn't really care about them anyway.

Ben kneeled down where Adrian was before and inspected the ground. He pushed twigs, vines and branches out of the way and marveled at what he saw.

"It's the hatch." He breathed in evident fascination.

Everyone crowded around Ben, leaving Riley standing behind them. He cursed his short stature and hopped up and down in an attempt to see what was going on. He heard Adam and Ben talking excitedly, then there was a creak, a whoop and somebody speaking in German. He folded his arms across his chest and waited.

"Riley, get over here." He heard Ben's demanding voice.

Riley shoved past Adrian and Leon and hovered over Ben. "What is it?" He asked, noticing that they had opened it with little difficulty. He peered down the dark abyss and was even more reminded of Lost. He only hoped there wasn't a Scottish man down there who pushed a button every 108 minutes. If there was, he was getting out of there.

"Shall we go down?" Adam asked with a sly smile.

Ben nodded. He carefully lowered himself down into the hatch. Adam did the same, followed by Adrian, Alfred, Leon and then Riley.

Once they were all down safely, Adam, Adrian, Leon and Alfred pulled out some flashlights and turned them on. The dark room was suddenly full of light. They looked around in wonder.

It was empty, and large. There was a single tunnel in front of them, and it was Ben who decided they should go into it. Riley made a mental note to never travel with Ben again. Ever.

Riley hesitantly followed the others down the creepy tunnel. It was wide enough for about three people to walk down it shoulder to shoulder. So it wasn't that much of a claustrophobic region, but Riley still felt his heart race.

He suddenly ran straight into Leon, who had stopped walking unexpectedly. Leon turned around to glare at him but paused when there was a gasp from someone. Riley peeked over Leon's shoulder and looked tow here everyone was staring at.

There, at the end of the tunnel, was a box. It looked old and had a golden trim around it. Ben and Adam both took a step forward while everyone else lingered behind to see what would happen. Ben and Adam both kneeled down beside it and looked at each other.

Adam reached out and traced his fingers along the edge. Ben simply sat and stared. Adam grinned and reached for the latch. He flipped it open and lifted the lid on the box. Inside was the DVD disk-sized-coin. Adam held it up for everyone else to see.

Riley felt happy. It looked even better than it did in the picture. Despite its old age, it shined brightly. The imprint of the snake looked as though it had been carved with great delicacy. Riley could now see why it was worth so much money.

"It's beautiful." Adam said as if he were hypnotized. He smiled in relief and looked at Ben.

Ben returned the smile and looked at Riley. Riley waved at him. Ben laughed.

"Let's get out of here." Adam said suddenly. Ben gave him an odd look but nodded in agreement.

They made their way back down the tunnel quicker than before. It took a very long time to get back out of the hatch, since there was no ladder. Leon volunteered to allow everyone to climb on his shoulders one at a time and crawl out that way. When it came to Riley's turn, Leon smiled. Riley reluctantly hopped on Leon's shoulders. Leon then grabbed hold of Riley's legs and pushed in an upward motion.

Riley flew out of the hatch like a rocket.

Adam cursed under his breath as rain started to pour down heavily. "We need to get going. Anacondas like rainy weather. It's when they usually hang around in trees…."

Riley gulped and he saw Ben's eyes grow wide. They were surrounded by trees, not a good environment.

"We'll make our way towards the river. Then we'll follow it back to wherever Ben's car once was. But stay away from the edge of the river, don't want an anaconda to sneak up and grab you." Adam had a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Riley frowned but followed the line of men without sarcastically replying. The river soon came into view. The rain made little ripples across its surface, but it was still the ugly, brown murky color. The rain started to come down harder, and Riley felt like they were actually in a rain forest.

"If we don't get there soon, one of us is bound to get sick." Alfred said through chattering teeth.

Riley agreed with him, but didn't say anything as he was too busy trying to keep warm. He hugged himself and looked out at the river. It looked very deep. And just when he was about to say something sarcastic, he saw something move. The very top of a snakes head surfaced and slowly advanced towards them. Riley froze on the spot. The anaconda was moving fast and steady. Riley grabbed onto Ben's arm.

"Ben!" He shouted above the rain.

"What??" Ben whirled around to face his friend, noting the urgent tone in the younger mans voice.

"Snake!" Riley pointed at the river where the anaconda was barely visible.

Ben squinted and was finally able to make out the shape of the snakes head. "Adam!" He yelled. "Get away from the river!"

"What?" Adam held the Renaissance treasure in his hand and looked at Ben curiously.

"Anaconda!"

Adam looked at the river and his eyes grew wide. The anaconda had now raised its head completely out of the water.

"RUN!" Adam shouted loudly.

Everyone scattered just as the anaconda shot out of the water. It flopped onto the bank and slithered around threateningly. Adam, Alfred, Leon and Adrian took off the direction they were originally headed. And Ben and Riley fled into the forest.

Riley was running faster than he should have, his legs were wobbly from the intense amount of pressure he was putting on them and the ice cold rain wasn't helping either. He pushed further, knowing that if he stopped then Ben would stop. And he didn't want to risk his friend getting hurt on his account, so he forced himself to continue running.

"Riley! Look out!" Ben's warning came too late as the anaconda slithered past Riley then darted quickly in front of him, causing the younger man to trip and fall to the ground.

Ben skidded to a stop and watched in horror as the massive snake coiled around Riley and began to squeeze.

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Oh God.

Am I a bitch or what?! XD

Sorry for that evil cliffhanger. And I'm also sorry to say that I can't update until next weekend.

MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Please don't hate me. But really, what's a story without a cliffhanger? It's just a must-have kind of thing.

Hehehehe! I feel so evil.

Well, review or you're not getting anymore. ;)


	6. Chapter 6

I feel accomplished. I brought my notebook home yesterday. :) And have a 5 day weekend. So I can update more! Yay.

And I loved reading your reviews. XD

You people are so protective of Riley. But I can't complain, because I do it too.

Anyway. Here's the next chapter :)

Yay for Ben POV.

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Ben watched as the color drained from Riley's face. His legs refused to cooperate, they felt like lead yet he could feel them shaking. All he could do was stare. The snake had a tight grip on Riley's body preventing the techie from escaping. The only movement Ben could see coming from Riley was the slight movement of his head. The anaconda was clearly choking the life out of him.

Ben never felt so scared in his life. He watched Riley's face go from pale to paler. His mind screamed at him to do something, anything, but his body wouldn't allow it. He was frozen in fear. He felt his heartbeat quicken as Riley's eyes slowly closed. That was when his body finally allowed him to move. The thought of Riley dead sent his body back into motion.

He shakily scrambled over to Riley and the large snake. He grabbed onto the anacondas body and pulled. The anaconda whipped its head around and hissed at him. Ben ignored it and pulled even harder, hoping to loosen the grip it had on Riley's body. The anaconda realized what he was trying to do and snapped its jaws. Ben jumped a little but continued pulling. The anaconda shot at him, causing Ben to fall over. It glared at him for a while then began to coil around Riley even more. Riley's eyes shot open and he desperately tried to suck in air. Ben jumped to his feet and grabbed onto the snake once again. He tugged and pulled, feeling the slimy, scaly snake beneath his hands start to loosen. The anaconda once again looked at him and hissed. Ben raised a foot and kicked at its head with all his strength. The anaconda hissed in anger, or pain, but reluctantly released Riley.

Ben rushed over to Riley and helped him to his feet. Riley seemed to be barely conscious and his breathing was heavy, but he was alive. And that was all Ben needed to know. He looked back at the anaconda and saw that it was recovering from the blow to its head. Ben protectively moved in front of Riley. The snake was wiggling around the ground, trying to make sense of what happened. It looked at Ben and hissed threateningly. Then, it slid away into the forest quicker than Ben had thought possible. He waited for a few minutes before deciding that the snake had had enough for now. He focused his attention back on Riley, who had slumped to the ground and propped himself up against a tree.

"Riley?" Ben kneeled down in front of his friend.

Riley slowly opened his eyes. "Hello." He said simply.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Riley said after a moment. "But I think my chest is going to explode."

Ben felt his fear creeping back. He gently prodded Riley's ribs. Riley gasped and smacked his hand away. Ben sighed.

"Lift up your shirt." Ben ordered.

Riley was hesitant but did so. Ben examined Riley chest area a little closer and sighed once more. He poked at his ribs again. Riley smacked his hand.

"Stop doing that." Riley gasped. "If it hurt the first time it's going to hurt the second."

Ben felt himself smile a little. He looked at Riley. "I think you're ribs are bruised." He stated.

"Stupid snake…" Riley muttered and pulled his shirt back down. He inhaled deeply and leaned his head against the tree and closed his eyes.

Ben sat beside his friend, allowing his rapidly beating heart to calm down. He wanted to let Riley rest, but he also wanted to get as far away from this place as possible and find Adam. He looked at Riley and felt relieved that he was still alive and breathing. After a few minutes of rest, Ben gently nudged Riley and told him to get up.

Riley looked up at him in confusion. "Why?"

"We need to get out of here and find Adam before that snake comes back."

"Right." Riley took a deep breath and slowly stood up. He wavered a bit and held onto the tree for support. After a moment, he regained his balance and nodded at Ben.

Ben walked only a few feet ahead of his friend; always looking back to make sure he was still standing. The rain was coming down even harder than before. It was becoming nearly impossible to see more than ten feet ahead. And the trees didn't provide much shelter. He glances back at Riley and found that he could barely see the techie stumbling along, so he slowed down a little and waited for Riley to reach his side. Then they continued walking side by side together.

Ben noticed that Riley was slowly becoming more and more tired. He stumbled over the sticks and rocks that appeared every few feet and had already run straight into a couple trees. His concern for Riley was growing more with each step they took.

Once it became visible that Riley could go no further without a break, Ben pulled the younger man aside and allowed him to sit down and rest. Ben sat down as well and moved closer to Riley, hoping to provide some sort of body heat. He felt himself start to shiver and felt Riley doing the same. He silently prayed they would find Adam soon.

"Ben." Riley panted from Ben's side.

"Yeah?"

"I don't trust Adam."

Ben looked at the rain soaked Riley. His hair was hanging down in his face and small drops of rain were rolling off his hair, nose and cheeks.

"Why not?" Ben asked.

Riley shrugged, and then winced a little. "He reminds me of Ian."

Ben smiled a little. 'Riley, you can't go through life thinking every Ian look alike is going to betray us."

"I know."

Ben looked at the ground for a while. He actually agreed with Riley on this one. There was something about Adam he didn't like. At first, he just seemed excited about the treasure. But now he just seemed desperate. He had a feeling that something was going to go wrong. But he wouldn't tell that to Riley, not in a million years. They were defenseless in the woods with a deadly predator lurking around; Adam was their only chance of survival.

A few minutes later they were back on their feet and walking. Ben hoped the river wasn't far away. It wasn't the best place to go after what had happened, but it was their only chance of finding Adam. Ben made a grab for Riley when the techie almost ran into another tree. He pulled him out of the way just in time.

"Thanks." Riley mumbled and was barely heard over the intense pounding of the rain.

"Any time." Ben replied with a small smile.

They continued walking for about ten more minutes. Ben had been thinking about something and was oblivious to the fact that Riley had sunk to the ground in exhaustion at the base of a tree. Ben didn't notice until he had walked a good ten feet. Then he hurried back the way he had come and found a wet, exhausted Riley. Ben felt bad, thinking if he hadn't gotten wrapped up in his thoughts Riley would be in slightly better condition.

"You okay?" Ben kneeled down beside his friend.

"Tired." Riley mumbled, eye lids drooping a little.

"We're almost to the river. After that we shouldn't have a problem in finding Adam. You can rest when we get there. Can you hold out until then?"

"Riley nodded his head once. "Yep."

Ben waited patiently until Riley caught his breath. The whole time he was scanning the trees in search of the anaconda. A small sneeze brought him out of his search. He looked at Riley.

"I think I'm getting a cold." Riley scrunched up his nose.

Ben laughed softly. "I think we're both going to be a little sick after this. Are you ready to go?"

"I think so." Riley pushed himself to his feet.

Ben waited for Riley to start walking before he did the same. They walked side by side once again, both slipping and stumbling on the wet ground. When they finally reached the river, the water was even dirtier than they remembered. Riley slowly moved to the other side of Ben, putting Ben between him and the river. Ben allowed this and started to follow the river.

It was even muddier beside the river than it was in the forest. The mud was almost like liquid and sprayed up on their pants each time they took a step. Ben grabbed onto Riley's arm to keep Riley from slipping and falling over. The last thing he wanted to do was walk back into the hotel with a mud-soaked Riley.

Ben looked at Riley and felt a sense of relief at the knowledge that his friend was still living. He had no idea what he would have done if that snake had killed him. He knew he'd blame himself for just standing there watching. But other than that, he couldn't even imagine the emotions he would feel if something had happened to Riley, if he felt any at all. The techie had grown on him since the day they met.

A sharp nudge broke him from his thoughts. Riley had elbowed him in the side intentionally. He looked at Riley with a questioning look. Riley pointed at the river about five feet away.

A particularly large log was being used as a bridge. Each end was nestled deeply into the opposite banks. And on the log, stood Adam, Adrian, Alfred and Leon. They were unsteadily inching their way across the river.

"Adam?" Ben called out.

Adam and his men were obviously startled and nearly fell off their bridge they had made. After a moment, Adam slowly turned around and looked at Ben.

"What are you doing?" Ben asked loudly, trying to be heard of the rain.

Adam didn't answer for a long time. He only stared. Then, without warning, he drew a gun out and aimed it at both Riley and Ben.

"Adam?" Ben tried again.

"Don't speak." Adam yelled over the rain. "Stay where you are, Ben."

Ben took a step forward. Adam cocked his gun. Ben froze.

"Stay right there." Adam warned. "Or I'll shoot one of you."

Ben looked over at Riley and felt his concern grow again. The best idea, for Riley's sake, was to do as Adam said. He couldn't risk Riley getting shot on top of everything else that had happened.

"Okay, Adam." Ben nodded and took a step back, taking Riley's arm and making him do the same.

Adam kept his gun trained on Ben and Riley as he slowly inched backwards without looking where he was going. Before Ben could warn him, he collided with Adrian. Adam and Adrian began to waver and wobble dangerously on the log. Alfred and Leon both reached out and tried to catch them. First, Adam and Adrian fell into the river. Then, Alfred and Leon fell in afterwards, having leaned out too far in an attempt to steady their friends.

Ben watched as the four men surfaced. Due to the uncontrollable weather, the current was strong and small waves were dragging each man under the surface. Then, as if things couldn't get any worse, Ben spotted the body of an anaconda slide into the river swiftly and silently. Leaving Riley, Ben took off and scrambled onto the log. He crawled across it and lay flat on his stomach. He stretched his arm out and tried to grab onto Adrian. For a second, he had a firm grip on Adrian's arm but because it was so wet, Adrian slipped and went crashing down into the river. Ben made a desperate grab for him and felt his body slipping off the log. Just as he was about to fall in, two hands grabbed him and pulled him back on. Ben looked up and saw Riley sitting there.

"Riley." Ben acknowledged.

Riley smiled. "The one and only."

Ben looked back down at the river at the struggling men. Leon was trying to swim for the bank while the others only struggled to remain above water. Ben looked for a sign of the anaconda but saw nothing.

Ben scooted off the log and back onto the ground. He then slid off the bank and into the water. His plan was to wade out as far as he could and hopefully drag everyone else back onto shore. He took two steps and found that he was already in waist deep water. The river was deeper than he thought. He reached out and grabbed onto Alfred's shoulder. He pulled the man closer and grabbed onto his arm with the other hand. With great effort, he pulled Alfred close enough to shore. Alfred quickly crawled onto the bank.

"Ben!" Riley's alarmed cry caused Ben to look up from his task.

"Adrian went under!" Riley shouted.

Ben looked back at the river and noticed that Adrian was nowhere in sight. Adam and Leon were looking around desperately in the water. Ben swore softly when he realized that the anaconda had struck again. He remembered reading how anacondas held their prey under the water for a long period of time until it drowned. He waded further out and roughly grabbed both Adam and Leon by the arms and yanked them back towards the bank. He nearly slipped on the muddy bottom but managed to pull the two men onto shore. Adam sat up quickly; looking tired, and stared at Ben.

"We have to save him!" He half shouted.

Ben nodded with impatience. "I know, I know." He tried to think of something to do but nothing was coming. He finally came to the idea he only planned to use as a last resort.

"One of us has to go down there." He said, looking at the three men before him. They all exchanged glances. No one answered.

"You know what?" Ben grew tired of waiting for answer. "I'll do it."

Adam looked shocked but silently nodded.

Ben suddenly remembered Riley. He whirled around to look at his friend. Riley was still sitting on the log, knees curled up to his chest and arms wrapped around them. Ben could only guess that he was tired, and cold. His assumption was proven correct when he saw the younger man shiver. Ben almost regretted his decision to go after Adrian.

"Ben! What are you waiting for??" Adam snapped.

Ben gave Adam a look. "Stay with Riley." He ordered. "I'll be back."

With that said, he dove down into the river with a splash.

----------

Riley felt like he was going to pass out. His ribs were killing him, he was tired and he was beyond freezing. And on top of that, he had a huge headache from running into so many trees. He curled up in a little ball in hopes of keeping what little body heat he had left. It didn't seem to be working. He looked up and saw Adam say something snappy to Ben. Ben said something back, and to Riley's surprise, dove straight into the river.

"Hey!" Riley cried out and nearly toppled off the log backwards.

He was well aware of Leon crawling towards him on the log. But it really didn't matter to him, he was too busy trying to figure out what Ben was doing under the water.

"He's going after Adrian." Leon stated once he sat down beside Riley.

"Why didn't you go??" Riley looked at Ben in annoyance. "You're friends with the guy, not Ben."

"I was about to, but Ben offered."

"_And you let him??"_ Riley couldn't believe it. Leon was a muscular man. He could take on an anaconda much easier than Ben could.

Riley looked at the river. He felt himself start to shiver. What was taking so long? He felt the log move a little as someone else crawled on. It was Adam and Alfred. They were crawling towards him and Leon. Once there, they made themselves comfortable. Riley gave them a look. Leon hit him in the side with his elbow. Riley bit back a cry as his ribs screamed in pain.

He felt his body start to tremble. He wasn't sure if it was from the cold or if it was fear. But it wasn't something he wanted to do in front of Adam and his men. He was shaking like a leaf. He curled up in a little ball again and attempted to stop his trembling body. It didn't work. He placed his forehead on his knees and took a few deep breaths.

Suddenly, there was a loud splash and some sputtering. Riley jerked his head up and felt his heart soar at the sight of Ben with a clingy Adrian on his back. Ben swam to the bank and shook Adrian off of him. He looked over at the log and met Riley's gaze. He smiled.

Adam, Alfred and Leon all seemed to get excited at the sight of a living, breathing Adrian. In their excitement, Leon shot a beefy arm out and smacked Riley directly in the chest. Riley squeezed his eyes shut and wrapped his arms around his mid section. It felt like his lungs had caught on fire. He had trouble breathing for a few minutes. Adam, Leon and Alfred had already climbed off the log. Riley remained, still trying to control his ragged breaths.

Once he was sure he could move again, he slowly got on his hands and knees and began to crawl towards Ben and the others. He repeatedly told himself not to look down at the raging water below. But of course, his temptation to the opposite of what he should do got the best of him. He looked down and nearly froze on the spot. It wasn't the water that scared him, it was the 30 foot, 250 pound snake that stared back at him.

"Ben!" Riley shouted, his voice shaky.

Riley then felt his hands start to slip.

----------

Ben felt comfort in the fact that Riley was safely crawling back to shore. He turned around and looked at the others. Adrian was shaking and Adam had wrapped a spare, yet soaked, blanket around him. It angered Ben that they hadn't given Riley a blanket.

"Ben!" Riley's voice sounded distant, but there was much fear embedded in it.

Ben spun around and looked at Riley. He was on his hands and knees, on the log, and staring at the water. Ben followed his gaze and felt himself grow aggravated. The anaconda was sticking out of the water like a cobra and staring at Riley with a hungry look. So far, the anaconda hadn't been able to keep hold of any of its food today. Ben figured it was determined.

Then Riley started to slip, and Ben felt the urgency to help his friend grow. He turned back around and grabbed the gun off of Alfred's belt. He cocked it, aimed and fired twice.

The anaconda hissed loudly as the two bullets tore through its flesh. It wasn't a deadly shot, but it was enough to get the anaconda to focus its attention on something other than Riley. It looked at Ben with a deadly look and prepared to strike. Ben was ready. He fired three more times. His aim was true; the three bullets hit the anacondas head dead center. The snake wriggled in the water and finally became still. Half of its body was in the water, the other half was on the bank. It was dead.

Ben wasted no time in making his way to Riley. He got on the log and quickly approached Riley. The techie's eyes were wide open and his mouth was hanging open slightly. He was still staring at the anaconda in shock. As Ben got closer, he noticed that there was a little bit of blood on Riley's face and sweatshirt. The anacondas blood.

"Riley?"

Riley blinked and looked at Ben. He seemed to calm down a little. "Nice shot." He mumbled.

Ben smiled. "Thanks. Come on. Let's get out of here."

-----

Tbc.

Oh they're not out of the woods yet. No, no, no. The anaconda is dead, yes, but there are still some angered Germans on the shore. (wink wink, nudge nudge.)

And you all should feel loved. I spent hours researching on how to escape from an anaconda. Unfortunately, the only answer I got was this:

_Lie flat on the ground. Put your arms tight against your sides, your legs tight against one another. Tuck your chin in. The snake will begin to nudge and climb over your body. Do not panic. After the snake has examined you, it will begin to swallow you from the feet end - always from the feet end. Permit the snake to swallow your feet and ankles. Do not panic! The snake will now begin to suck your legs into its body. You must lie perfectly still. This will take a long time. When the snake has reached your knees slowly and with as little movement as possible, reach down, take your knife and very gently slide it into the side of the snake's mouth between the edge of its mouth and your leg, then suddenly rip upwards, severing the snake's head._

There was no way I was going to allow that snake to swallow poor Riley. So I came up with my own way of escape. Hopefully it makes sense.

By the way. If you hate snakes, don't ever – I repeat, DON'T EVER go to a site called manbir-online.

In my honest opinion, the pictures they have of anacondas are the worst I've seen yet. My eyes were all popping out of their sockets and my jaw decided to bungee jump to the floor.

This chapter is also long, it seems. Oh well.

Review and let me know what you think. :)


	7. Chapter 7

Hello faithful reviewers. :)

I'm bored, so I decided to update the story.

I must warn you, there's a wee bit of language in this chapter.

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Riley allowed Ben to guide him off of the log and back onto shore. It wasn't raining as much as it was earlier; it was now more like a sprinkle. Riley hopped off the log and cautiously made his way towards the dead snake. He wondered what kind of gun Ben had used. The snakes head didn't even look like a head anymore; it was more like a pile of shredded flesh and blood. He stuck his foot out and nudged the snake, then jumped backwards, expecting it to suddenly lash out. But it didn't. It was finally dead.

He suddenly remembered Adam and his men, and began to wonder what they were going to do next. He turned around and came face to face with someone. He jumped backwards in fright with an alarming cry. After his nerves calmed down, he gave the person responsible a look.

"Don't do that." Riley warned as he protectively crossed his arms over his chest.

"Sorry." Ben replied. "Are you okay?"

"Just peachy."

Riley knew that Ben didn't believe him at all.

"How's your chest?" Ben asked.

Riley decided to be completely honest for once. "Hurts like hell."

Ben smiled sympathetically. "I'll get you to a hospital once we get out of here."

Riley felt somewhat comforted at that statement, even though he hated hospitals with a passion. But the thought of lessening the pain that engulfed him seemed almost heavenly. He shifted his weight to the other foot, making his ribs scream in protest. He looked at Ben and felt all the more grateful that he could actually call him his best friend. Not once had he had someone like Ben in his life, besides his parents but they had a tendency to ignore him completely.

Ben nudged him carefully in the arm. Riley looked over at his friend in question. Ben was looking at someone, Adam probably. Riley followed his gaze and found that it was indeed Adam he was looking at. Adam held a gun in his hand, it was pointed at Ben. Riley realized that they were in the middle of a conversation.

"Where is it, Ben?" Adam was asking.

"I don't have it." Ben stated. Riley could tell he was telling the truth.

"Bullshit." Adam cocked his gun. "Tell me where it is."

Riley couldn't understand what they were talking about. Obviously something was missing, but he couldn't figure out what.

"Adam, I swear, I don't have it." Ben began talking in that firm voice of his that seemed to intimidate people. It worked, because Adam seemed to back down a little. But he soon regained his confidence.

"Liar. I gave it to Adrian to hold onto. He went under, you brought him back up, and now it's gone." Adam had a look of pure hate in his eyes.

Riley felt like scoffing. Ben had just saved everyone from getting eaten by an oversized snake. And this was the thanks he got? Being accused of stealing something? Riley knew the only thing Ben stole was antique documents.

"Adam." Ben continued in that parental tone. "I didn't take it. It's probably lost in the river."

Riley suddenly realized what they were talking about. The treasure was missing. And Adam was accusing Ben of swiping it.

Adam said something inaudible in German. Then he looked at Riley. Riley felt uneasy. He shifted uncomfortably and moved himself behind Ben. Ben protectively straightened his posture when he saw Adam looking at Riley.

"Riley." Adam's once demanding tone was softer. "Come over here."

"Rather not." Riley peeked out from his hiding place behind Ben.

"Leave him out of this." Ben's voice became even more parental then it had been before.

"And why should I?" Adam took a few steps towards them. "It's not like you care about him. He's the sidekick, the extra baggage, the insignificant other."

Riley felt a pang of guilt. He was the insignificant sidekick Ben always had to look after. But Ben thought he was more than that. Didn't he?

"All he is, is a nuisance. An obnoxious, intolerant, pathetic little – "

Adam's little speech was cut off by a swift punch in the face from Ben. Riley watched as Adam fell to the ground. Alfred and Leon rushed to his side. Ben was shaking his hand and hopping up and down. The punch had obviously not only hurt Adam, but Ben as well. Riley stood and waited, not knowing if he should move or not.

"Wrong move, Ben." Adam stood up and gave Ben a look that could only come from someone who'd just been punched. He pulled his gun out again and aimed it at Ben. "Tell me where it is."

Riley felt the need of a sarcastic comment, but thought better of it since the gun was aimed at Ben.

Ben had a look of defeat in his eyes. He walked over to the dead anaconda and squatted down. "Toss me your knife." He ordered Adam. Adam did so. Ben slowly began to slice away at the snakes skin around its mid section. Riley almost gagged when blood started to seep out. He had to close his eyes when Ben started cutting into the stomach. Alfred and Adrian were both cringing. Leon seemed unaffected. Adam only watched.

A few minutes later, Ben stood up with the golden treasure in his hand, well, at the moment it was covered in snake guts and blood, but it was golden underneath. Ben tossed it to Adam who gave a yelp and jumped out of the way, refusing to touch it.

"Make sure you clean it." Ben said softly as he walked back over tow here Riley was.

Adam gave Ben a look. "How did it get inside the snake?"

"When I freed Adrian, the anaconda grabbed onto his leg with its mouth. When Adrian jerked his leg free the medallion flew out of his pocket. The snake must have eaten it."

Leon picked the giant coin up as if it were nothing. He pulled off some sticky entrails and tossed them aside, and then he wiped the blood off with his shirt. Riley dubbed the man as insane. He could tell Ben was thinking the same thing. Leon handed the treasure to Adam, who stuck it in a pocket on the inside of his jacket.

There was suddenly the sound of a motor, and Riley felt his hopes rise. He hoped someone had come to find them, but even he knew there luck wasn't that fortunate. After a minute or two, there came Ben and Riley's rented car barreling through the treeless area with Dennis behind the wheel. He hopped out of the car.

"Hey, Adam…" He trailed off when he saw the dead anaconda. He paled. "Uh…I took Ralph to the hospital. The doctor said he'll be okay. I thought I'd come back and give you guys a lift."

Adam looked at Ben, then at Riley. He nodded. "Okay. Adrian, Leon, Alfred, get in the car." The three men did as they were told and climbed into the backseat of the vehicle. "Benjamin, Riley." He smiled a little. "I'll be seeing you around." With that said, Adam quickly hopped into the passenger side. He ordered Denis to drive.

Riley and Ben watched helplessly as Adam and the others sped off into the distance with the treasure. Riley wondered how the little car had made so far. He silently prayed they would break down or crash into a tree.

"Now what?" Riley asked softly.

Ben looked down at him. "Riley, what Adam said about you. None of it's true." Ben said, completely ignoring Riley's question.

Riley shrugged. "Okay."

"Riley, I'm serious."

"I know you are. But, you know, in a way I am kind of your sidekick."

"You're more than that." Ben said with honesty. "You're my little brother."

Riley blushed.

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Yeah, yeah. This chapter is short. And not very actiony.

But I'm stuck here. And I need your help. ;)

Should I let Adam get away with the treasure? Or should I make Ben and Riley go after him? I'm thinking of the second choice, but I really don't know.

Tell me what you think in a review. :)


	8. Chapter 8

Sorry I didn't update last weekend. I'm not going to lie to you and say I was busy. To be honest, I just didn't feel like updating. I had no ideas and I wasn't in a very creative mood. And I've fallen in love with the movie Titanic. So let's blame Leonardo DiCaprio.

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"Drive faster." Adam barked. Dennis flinched and stomped his foot on the gas.

"I still don't see why we had to leave them." Adrian muttered from the backseat.

Adam turned around in his seat and looked at Adrian. "This is all part of the game. You weren't complaining about leaving them when we first came up with this plan."

"That was before Ben saved our lives." Adrian glared at Adam, something he wouldn't normally do.

Adam narrowed his eyes and gave his friend a glare of his own. "Shall I pull over and throw you out here? Or do you wish to continue with us?"

Adrian lowered his gaze and sighed. Adam had promised to split the money from the treasure with each of them. He needed the extra cash. He looked up at Adam and shook his head.

"Good choice." Adam turned away from the backseat and stared out the window.

Adrian looked at Alfred. Alfred raised his eyebrows and looked at Adam. "Adam. Stop the car."

Adam whirled around and faced them. "What?"

"Stop the car."

"Why would I do that?"

"I'm don't want any part of this. If it weren't for Ben, Adrian would be dead now as would the rest of us. I don't want to leave them behind."

Adam scoffed and looked over at Dennis. "Dennis, stop the car."

Dennis hit the brake and the car came to an abrupt stop. Adam looked back at Alfred. "Get out."

Alfred sighed and shook his head before climbing out of the backseat. He walked a few paces away from the car and stood.

"If anyone else wants to quit then I suggest you get out now." Adam mumbled.

Adrian looked at Alfred then at Adam. After a moment of hesitation, he opened the door and got out as well. He stood beside Alfred.

"Typical." Adam said. "Leon? Dennis? I suppose you're staying?"

Dennis nodded. Leon looked at the calm faces of Alfred and Adrian and then looked at Adam's angered demeanor. He chewed on his bottom lip for a second before answering. He nodded.

"Splendid." Adam looked at Alfred and Adrian and stared for a moment. Adrian thought he saw a flicker of regret in his eyes.

"Dennis." Adam gave Dennis the silent command to drive. Dennis complied and started the car up again.

After a minute or so, neither Alfred nor Adrian could see the car any longer. They looked at each other and smiled softly.

----------

Ben stepped over a fallen tree branch and ducked under a limb. He hadn't been lying when he said Riley was his brother. It was the truth. Riley was one of the few that he could depend on. His blind faith never went by unnoticed. The kid had grown on him.

"Watch your step." Ben warned as he pointed out a twisted tree root stick out of the ground. Riley stepped over it cautiously.

"So did you really mean what you said back there?"

"Every word."

Ben laughed when he saw Riley blush again. He ducked under another tree limb and inadvertently stepped into a very large puddle. He let out a sigh as mud seeped into his shoes. He hopped out of the puddle and made a face at the massive amount of mud. Riley had stepped in it as well and was muttering to himself and desperately trying to scrub the grime from his converse.

"I think we'll need new shoes once we get out of here." Ben commented as he snapped a twig off of a nearby tree and used it as a tool to help get the mud off.

"I think we're going to need an entire new wardrobe." Riley gestured to his soaked clothes. His hoodie was stained with mud and grass stains and his jeans had numerous tears in them. Ben couldn't tell if the rips were new or old.

Riley followed Ben's action and broke a stick off a tree. He started poking at the layers of mud on his shoe while mumbling about how much he despised shoe stores. Ben was about to ask him why but paused mid sentence when he heard movement to their left. Ben stopped cleaning his shoes off and stood up. Riley watched him.

Ben took a step closer to Riley, preparing himself to yank Riley onto his feet and run. He tensed when he saw Alfred and Adrian heading towards them.

"We thought you might be around here." Alfred smirked.

"What do you want?" Ben took another small step towards Riley.

"We're not going to hurt you." Alfred assured. "Leaving you two behind was a bad idea. With all the other dangerous animals you're surely to get killed if you stay out here too long."

"And….what other kinds of animals are there?" Riley asked with a sense of dread.

Alfred shrugged. "Alligators, monkeys, boas, and there's a few insects that you need to watch out for."

Ben looked at Adrian and Alfred. "Why are you here?"

Adrian sighed. "Adam's getting ahead of himself. We honestly never intended on killing you. But apparently that was his intention if you made it out of here alive."

"So you're going to help us?"

Adrian nodded. "As much as we can. It'll take an hour at least to get out of here. From there you're on your own."

Ben looked at Riley. The computer tech was getting tired, they needed to get out of the forest as soon as possible.

"Okay. You lead the way." Ben kept a steady gaze on the two men before him. He prayed they weren't up to something.

Adrian gave a nod and turned around to go back the way he had come. Alfred followed pursuit, as did Riley and then Ben. They walked in a straight line and stayed close together to avoid separation. They were only about twenty minutes into the walk when Adrian suddenly stopped, causing everyone to bump into the person in front of them.

"What is it?" Ben called out to Adrian.

Adrian held up a hand for him to be silent. Ben felt his curiosity getting the better of him and he walked up to the front of the line. Riley followed him. Ben felt his throat tighten when he saw what was only a few feet away from them. He heard Riley make a noise.

"You didn't say anything about jaguars." Riley whispered to Adrian, his voice trembling a little.

"They hunt at night and are very rare to see around here. This is extraordinary." Adrian answered as he stared at the animal in awe.

Ben felt himself calm down as he watched the large cat. He found it extraordinary as well. The cat sat looking at them with a curious gaze. It yawned and looked at them as if waiting for them to make the first move. Its tail wagged and thumped against the tree behind it. It blinked a few times.

"What do we do?" Ben whispered.

Alfred shook his head slightly. "I think we should try and move past it."

"What if it attacks us?" Riley asked.

"It doesn't look like it wants to harm us. Let's try to walk by it."

Adrian and Alfred took a few steps forward while keeping their attention focused on the cat. The jaguar cocked its head but made no move to attack. Ben and Riley followed Alfred. After several steps, they were almost right next to it. The jaguar suddenly stood up from its seated position. Everyone froze. The large cat started to walk away from them. Before it made its final leave, it turned back and looked at them. It stared for a moment then flicked its tail and continued to walk away.

Riley let out a relieved sigh. Ben, Adrian and Alfred watched the jaguar until it was out of sight. They looked at each other and smiled faintly. They reformed their line and continued walking.

----------

Adam sat slumped in the passenger seat of the rental car. He stared out the window at the passing trees. He was beginning to feel sick, whether it was from the countless bumps and swerves the car made or if it was the fact that two of his friends were out in the middle of a jungle he couldn't tell. His conscience was telling him that he should go back, but he pushed the thought away and fingered the gold medallion in his coat pocket.

From the backseat, Leon suddenly called out in alarm. Adam looked up just in time to see the car heading straight for a large tree. Dennis swore and altered the steering wheel to the left in a pitiful attempt to dodge the tree. His effort was successful and they swerved out of the path of the tree. Dennis turned around in his seat and looked out the back window at the tree. He sighed in relief.

"Dennis!" Adam grabbed the steering wheel and tried to steer away from the swamp they were driving towards. Dennis slammed on the brakes a little too late. The car smashed into a neighboring tree and skidded to the side before catching on a small boulder and flipping into the swamp. The car landed upside down in the murky water.

Adam felt his head smack against the dashboard. He groaned and felt his body being supported only by his seatbelt. He looked at Dennis and Leon. Dennis appeared to be fine with only a cut above his right eye. Leon had a nasty gash on his hairline but seemed fine otherwise.

Adam unbuckled his seatbelt and landed hard on the roof of the car. He sat up and watched as Dennis and Leon followed his action. Adam scooted over to the door and grabbed the handle. He wiggled it and gave a frustrated cry when the door didn't open.

"It's stuck!" He cried out in an almost panicked tone.

Leon tried both of the back doors and found that they were also jammed. Dennis reported that his was stuck as well.

Adam felt himself grow uneasy as he heard the sound of glass cracking. He looked at the windshield and saw that there was a large crack in it from the impact with the tree. The water pressing down on it was slowly starting to break the glass.

"We need to get out of here!" Dennis looked around the car desperately for an escape.

Adam pulled on his door handle and swore when it came off in his hand. He glanced at the windshield again and felt his heart stop. Water was starting to seep in. Before long the water would break through the glass. Adam closed his eyes and tried to control his ragged breathing. He remained in that position for a few minutes while Leon and Dennis tried the doors again.

Adam opened his eyes and looked out his window. All there was to see was brown colored water with grass and moss floating around. He heard the awful sound of glass breaking and turned back around to face the windshield. Just as he did so, the windshield finally busted. Gallons of water flowed in, knocking all three men down. Adam felt the water pressing him down in an inescapable aspect. After a few moments he felt the pressure on his chest lessen. He thrashed his arms around and groped for the windshield. He was rewarded with a few cuts on his hands from the broken glass. He ignored the searing pain and swam out of the hole that was once a windshield. His pants leg snagged onto a broken shard. He reached down and fumbled with it for a moment. Once he was free he began to swim. He burst through the surface in seconds and gasped for air. He wiped the water from his eyes and looked around.

"Dennis! Leon!" He called out. He looked around when he received no reply.

After a few more seconds, he heard the unmistakable sound of splashing water. He whirled around and saw both Leon and Dennis gasping for air. Leon sputtered a little while Dennis choked on some water.

"Are you okay?" Adam asked them after they had their breathing under control.

They both nodded. Adam smiled briefly and started to swim towards the shore. He dragged himself onto land and pulled several clumps of moss off of his body. He looked at the submerged rental car and sighed. The tired were visible, but that was it. Suddenly remembering what was in his pocket; he reached inside and felt for the treasure. His eyes widened when he realized it was gone. He searched each of his pockets but found nothing. He scanned the area to see if he dropped it. There was no sign of it. He hesitantly looked at the swamp.

"What's wrong?" Dennis asked as he noticed Adam's expression.

"The treasure," Adam let his shoulders slump. "It's gone."

"What do you mean gone?" Leon asked.

"I lost it in the swamp." Adam mumbled. He turned around and angrily kicked the boulder they had hit earlier.

"Should we go after it?" Leon took a small step towards the water.

"Don't bother." Adam said. "It's useless. We'd never find it."

Adam sighed and stared at the water. The treasure was gone.

----------

So that's that. Sorry if this chapter confuses you…? When I was writing I kind of zoned out.

And I might make the jaguar reappear later. Idk. I just wanted to pop him in there. :)

Now reviiiiew. :)


	9. Chapter 9

Ahh God. This story is killing me. I know how I'm going to end it, but until then? I'm clueless. I hate writers block. All I know is, I'm sticking to oneshots in the future. Haha.

Thanks for all your reviews!

I just realized that I don't reply to any of them…..I'll have to make it up to you guys somehow. Once I can think creatively again.

I would also like to blame Titanic for my lack of update. Again. This movie has seriously consumed my life……

Riley could barely concentrate on the endless conversation between Ben and Alfred. He was far too busy fending off mosquitoes. Poor Alfred made he mistake of asking Ben about the Knights Templar treasure. This excited Ben and he automatically launched himself into history mode. Riley wondered if Alfred was even listening any more. He too, was busy swatting at mosquitoes and other insects that constantly buzzed around their heads, sending an annoying hum into their ears every five seconds. In fact, the only person who wasn't being bothered by mosquitoes and flies was Ben. It was like his dull, ongoing history speech had some kind of bug repellent in it. Ben was just getting to the part about Charles Carol when Riley suddenly cried out in frustration.

"I hate these stupid bugs!" He yelled and jumped up and down a few times for extra drama while swatting angrily at the air.

Alfred angrily smacked at a fly that had landed on his arm. "We should be getting close. About ten more minutes maybe."

Riley moaned and swatted at a particularly large bug. Ten more minutes, he figured, and he'd be all dried out from the blood-sucking creatures. It was getting late in the day, and the air was growing humid. All four men were already sweating buckets, which attracted all the more insects. Riley felt a small amount of satisfaction when he saw Ben brush a fly off his arm. The man was finally feeling his pain.

Riley tried to take his mind off the flying creepy-crawlies and focus on something else. However the consistent pain in his chest prevented him from thinking about anything other then their current situation. His stomach was growling too, and he was still wet from the previous rain. Hunger, sweat, bugs, bruised ribs. Riley wasn't having the best of days.

"How much longer?" He asked, not more than three minutes after complaining about the mosquitoes.

"Same as last time, Riley." Alfred answered.

Riley tried once more to focus on something else. But just as before, the aching pain his body was in kept him from thinking about anything other than the flying terrors that resumed in their flight around his head. For the next several minutes Riley whined about how hot it was, complained about lack of food, and brought up an interesting story about a dandelion and a frog he had learned as a child, much to everyone's annoyance. Adrian moved up closer to Ben and whispered into his ear.

"How do you put up with this kid?"

Ben laughed. "You get used to it. Just pretend you're listening and keep moving."

Riley heard their little conversation and narrowed his eyes. Fine. Ignore him. He didn't care. But they sure were missing one heck of a dandelion story.

Adam silently tracked through the forest without saying a word to neither Leon nor Dennis. He was angry at himself, and confused. He'd lost the treasure. The same treasure his entire family searched for. It wasn't fair, in his opinion. His uncle was killed when he tried t find it two years ago. From what he heard the anaconda got him. And his dad was seriously injured while driving around Brazil and was left paralyzed from the waist down. Just once, he wanted to make his family proud and bring them one little piece of history the rest of the world failed to find. Then, maybe, people would respect him more.

He was also feeling slightly guilty about leaving Adrian and Alfred behind. But it was their choice, and he couldn't understand why they did it. He was the one they were supposed to be helping. Not Ben. Why was Ben even after the treasure? He was already filthy rich, all the money he could ever ask for. And no doubt he had a girlfriend or something. And he was probably living in a giant mansion with butlers and maids running around. He didn't need the money. His life was already perfect.

A rough grip on his arm caused Adam to stop walking. He looked at the person who had grabbed him, Dennis, and was about to ask a question when Dennis silenced him. Adam cocked his head and listened, under the impression that Dennis had heard something. In the distance, he could hear twigs snapping under someone's, or something's, feet. Adam watched as Leon pulled out his gun and aimed it in the general direction of the noise. It was only a minute or so later when they saw a small leopard bounding towards them with a playful speed. It was only a cub. It froze when it saw them, glaring at them with visible fear. Adam felt his muscles relax when he realized the cub would not harm them. He felt them tense up once more, however, when heard the sound of a gunshot and the baby leopard fell to the ground soundlessly.

Adam looked over at Leon, who held the gun. "What was that for!" He shouted, a little louder than intended.

"I had to kill it!" Leon glared. "When there's a cub, there's a mother!"

"Killing a baby leopard isn't going to keep its mother away!"

Leon was about to defend his reason for shooting the cub but was cut off by another sound. The same sound as before; footsteps snapping sticks in half. Only this time is was coming from behind them. Leon tightened his grip on his gun. Dennis and Adam allowed him to do so, both knowing the adult leopard was behind them.

With a quick and sudden movement, Leon whirled around and fired randomly at the sound. Adam felt his heart stop when he realized what they had shot. _Who_ they had shot. There were a few shocked cries, and Ben Gates fell back against a tree, blood staining his shoulder.

Rile felt his heart jump to his throat when he heard a gunshot. His breath caught in his throat when he saw Ben fall back against a neighboring tree with blood seeping out of his shoulder. Riley looked at the shooter and felt a twinge of hate when he saw it was Leon. He would have yelled, but Leon looked just as shocked as he was. Riley, along with Adrian and Alfred, rushed to Ben's side.

"Ben?" Adrian helped Ben into a seated position. "Ben, can you hear me?"

"Yeah." There was a hint of pain etched in Ben's voice.

Riley found himself unable to say anything, or do anything. He just sat and watched, tnd asked a stupid question.

"Are you okay?" He asked softly. Ben gave him a funny look.

Alfred prodded the area around Ben's shoulder. "It doesn't look too bad." He commented. "Could be worse."

Riley glanced over at Adam and his little gang. All three of them stood there staring. He looked back at Ben and saw that the treasure hunter was staring at him.

"What?" Riley asked.

"You don't look so good."

Riley scoffed." Speak for yourself."

Ben managed a slight smile that only lasted a few seconds before Adrian prodded at his shoulder, causing him to wince. It was obvious that Ben was in pain, but the man did a heck of a job in hiding it. Riley watched as Adrian stood up from his kneeled position beside Ben and made his way over to Leon.

"Why'd you shoot him?" Adrian asked sternly.

Leon looked at a loss for words. He looked at Ben and shook his head before answering. "I don't know. I….I thought he was a leopard…."

Riley's jaw dropped. He jumped to feet and stared at Leon. "Ben doesn't look anything like a leopard. How the heck does someone make that mistake?"

Leon glared at him, making Riley suddenly feel shorter than he already was. "I shot a cub. I heard a noise behind us and mistook your footsteps for its mother. That's why I fired."

"Why would you shoot a cub?" Riley asked.

"Wherever there's a cub, there's a mother."

Riley looked around. "I don't see the mother. You were evidently wrong."

Leon took a couple threatening steps forward. "Perhaps I should have shot _you_ instead."

Riley had the perfect comeback and was ready to let it fly out of his mouth when he was cut off sharply by Alfred.

"Boys, I hate to interrupt your little chat but I believe Mr. Gates here needs a doctor."

Ben looked at Alfred. "Ben. Call me Ben."

"Okay. Ben here needs to get to a doctor. So I suggest you two stop your bickering."

Riley looked at Ben and saw that the treasure hunter had turned an unnatural pale color. After giving Leon a glare he kneeled down and helped Ben to his feet. Ben wavered for a moment.

"You okay?" Riley asked.

Ben nodded. "I'm fine."

Adrian looked over at Adam. "Are you guys coming?"

Leon and Dennis both looked at Adam for an answer. Adam cleared his throat. "No. We have to go back to our car."

Dennis quirked an eyebrow and Leon gave Adam a confused look.

"Why were you out of it in the first place?" Riley asked.

Adam's face hardened. "Because we were."

'_Oh that's not suspicious at all…' _Riley thought as he moved over to Ben's side.

"Right." It was evident that Adrian didn't believe Adam either, but he didn't express it clearly. "See you around, then."

Riley followed Alfred and Adrian towards the exit of the jungle, not once leaving Ben's side. He looked back over his shoulder and saw Adam, Dennis and Leon huddled together in a conversation. Riley sighed and hoped they weren't planning anything fishy.

They had only been walking for a few minutes when Riley suddenly started to tell a story about a dandelion and a frog.

Okayy. So it's not the best of chapters. But I'm totally out of ideas. I'll have to think more about future chapters this week.

I'll see you all next weekend! And don't forget to review. :)


	10. Chapter 10

**Thanks for the reviews.**

**But I'm going to blow this website up. With a very large grenade.**

**I looked back at the previous chapters and my breaks are gone! You know those little dashes you put after a paragraph to signify that you're changing point of views or going to a later period of time? They're gone! I don't know if it's just my computer or what but it's really making me mad. **

**The story hardly makes sense without those little lines. URGH.**

**I'm typing in bold just in case my little break things disappear again.**

**I am angry. Therefore I am blaring my lovely music whilst writing (typing?) this chapter. Not that that will solve anything…..but listening to 'Barbie Girl' and singing Ken's part can really do a person some good……**

**Oh, and there IS a reason as to why I let Ben get shot. It will play into the final chapter (whenever that is) and hopefully you guys will enjoy it. :) **

Riley felt as though he were going to die from exhaustion. His chest was aching more than ever and the intense heat was becoming a nuisance. He had several scratches on his arms and face from tripping and slamming head on into a tree. Once he had tripped over his own feet and banged his head on a log. He now had an angry red mark on his forehead that would surely attract attention from Abigail once they got home. Riley was partially thankful that Ben had gotten shot, that way Abby would fuss over him and not make a big deal out of Riley's wrestling match with the anaconda.

Riley shuddered when he thought of the snake. He knew that experience would give him nightmares for a while and most likely leave him with a fear of snakes. He remembered watching the movie Anaconda only a few months before learning about Ben's travel plans. It was an old movie, and the snake didn't look very real, but Riley now knew what it felt like to get a hug from an anaconda. And he didn't have any intention of finding out what its kiss would be like….

He cringed as a sharp pain erupted in his left side. It didn't go unnoticed either. Adrian stopped walking and looked at Riley.

"You okay, kid?"

Adrian's question caused Ben to whip his head around in fear that something bad had happened.

Riley nodded and hugged himself. "I'm fine."

"You sure?" Adrian actually looked slightly concerned. "we're going to need tot ake a break. Once we get out of here, we still have thirty miles to walk in order tog et back to town."

Riley felt his heart sink. One mile of walking had already threatened to make him pass out, and thirty more would surely harm him. He glanced over at Ben. The treasure hunter looked pale and was sweating a lot. Despite his own discomfort in walking, Riley knew that Ben needed a doctor as soon as possible. He looked at Adrian and gave him his most sincere expression. "I'm fine, really."

It seemed to work. Adrian nodded and continued to walk towards the exit of the jungle. Unfortunately Ben had known Riley long enough to understand that the techie was telling a lie. He narrowed his eyes at Riley and approached him, still caressing his arm gently.

"Riley, you're not fooling me. You're hurt just as much as I am. And I think we should take a break."

Riley shook his head. "Ben, I'm fine."

"No, Riley, you're not. You were nearly crushed to death by an anaconda. It's very likely that your ribs were either bruised or broken. We both need a doctor and plenty of rest."

Riley didn't get a chance to defend himself since Ben started to walk ahead of him after finishing his sentence. Riley shook his head in agitation and followed at his own pace.

He hated it when Ben was able to read him like a book. It left him with little to no privacy. The man knew basically every secret he possessed and even though he promised he wouldn't tell anyone, Riley still felt uncomfortable with his best friend knowing just about every small detail of his life.

Adrian suddenly laughed with relief. He stopped and pointed towards a group of trees. "There's the exit."

Everyone wordlessly followed Adrian towards the trees. Once there, they each looked at each other and smiled briefly before stepping out of the jungle for the first time in hours.

Riley didn't know whether to scream, laugh, or weep. So he did neither and just grinned from ear to ear. He looked at the others and saw that they were smiling too. They were finally out of the jungle and on their way to freedom. Or rather, a doctor. So that wasn't really freedom at all.

* * *

Adam couldn't decide on whether to go back and look for the treasure, which could take hours, or find a way out of the jungle, which could also take hours. He desperately wanted to claim the treasure for himself and become wealthy, but he also wanted to get out of the forest as quickly as possible. He was still debating on his options when he got the feeling that he was being watched. He turned around and saw Dennis watching him expectantly.

"Did you say something?" Adam asked.

Dennis shook his head. "Not yet. But I was wondering what we're going to do next. I don't know about you but I would love to get out of here and back to civilization."

Adam ran a hand through his hair thoughtfully. "I'm not sure…" He trailed off and looked around at the surrounding trees. He shook his head. "I really don't know what to do."

Leon stood up from his seated position by a tree. "I'm not sure if this will be of any help, but my suggestion would be to get out of here before something worse than an anaconda comes after us."

Dennis scoffed. "Leon, you're full of it. What in this world could possibly be worse than an anaconda?"

Leon raised his eyebrows. "I don't know. Maybe a panther or a…..cougar.."

"What's the difference?"

Leon shrugged slightly. "Cougars are a brownish color…instead of black like a panther. Cougars can open their jaws wider. Their eyes are yellow. They have large ears. And uh….they're slightly larger than the jaguar we saw earlier. And there's a small cut above their left eye."

"Ho do you know that?" Dennis was obviously puzzled.

"Because one's standing right behind you. Move!"

It took a moment for Dennis to realize what Leon had just said, but once it was fully registered in his brain he threw himself to the ground just as a large cougar soared over the area he had once been standing. The cougar landed with exceptional grace only a few feet away and let out a threatening growl. Dennis scrambled to his feet while Leon pulled his gun out. He aimed at the cat and fired. To everyone's dismay, the gun was not loaded. Leon fished around in his gear for extra clips when the cougar suddenly leaped upon Dennis. Dennis shouted and tried to crawl out from under the heavy creature but failed in doing so. He waved his arms around desperately for some kind of weapon and felt his fingers close around the end of a large stick that was at least a few inches thick. He tightened his grip on it and swung at the cat with all his might. He caught the cougar in the shoulder and the cat shrieked in anger.

"Dennis!" Adam cried out and fumbled around for his gun. He pulled it out and cocked it. Just as he was about to fire, the cougar suddenly turned on him and pounced. Adam felt the wind get knocked out of him as his body slammed against the ground. The cat loomed over him with hungry eyes and let out a fierce roar. Adam felt the pressure of its large paws on his shoulders as the animal pinned him to the ground. He felt its hot breath as it moves closer to his throat. Forcing his body to cooperate, he brought his knee up and kicked the cougar in the belly. The animal let out an angry howl and without warning it jumped at him a second time before he could get away.

Leon felt utterly helpless when he realized he hadn't brought extra clips with him. Adam had the extra bullets and there was no possible way to get a hold of them. He looked around at the jungle floor and saw a large branch about as thick as a baseball bat. He picked it up and with an exasperated cry; he slammed the branch into the cats head with as much force as he could muster. The cougar seemed unaffected however and only looked even more murderous than before.

Dennis followed Leon's action and brought his own weapon down on the beast. His club snapped in half on impact with the cat's tough hide. The cougar was large, and the only thing that could harm it was a gun.

"Get it off me! Please!" Adam suddenly yelled when the cougar dug its claws into his flesh. Before anyone could act, the cougar suddenly lurched forward and bit down on his throat. Adam felt an intense amount of pain and tried to cry out, but it only came as a strangled gurgle. The cat refused to release its vice-like grip on his throat. It bit down harder and Adam felt his vision slowly start to darken. Tears pricked his eyes when he realized that this was the end of the road for him. He was done, finished.

"Adam!" Dennis screamed and with a newfound energy, he charged at the cougar as if he were playing football. The large predator was taken by surprise and released its grip on Adam and rolled to the ground. With a snarl, it rose and bared its teeth.

Leon decided to help Dennis and kicked the cat square in the face. The cat howled and opened its jaws wide to let out an angry shriek. It was ready to attack when Dennis suddenly swung at the cat with Leon's club. He caught the cougar in the side of the face. The cat howled and fell to the ground. It jumped to its feet and looked at them. And as if they weren't worth it anymore, it took off into the jungle with a remarkable speed.

Dennis and Leon both dropped to their knees beside Adam's body. They couldn't help but stare at his throat – or what was left of it. It seemed as though when Dennis tackled the cat, its grip on Adam's neck was only released by force. Leaving a gaping hole where Adam's throat should have been. Upon further inspection, Leon found that Adam only had about one inch of neck left. And if they moved him, his head would flop around like a rag dolls.

Biting back tears, Dennis and Leon bowed their heads in respect for their fallen companion. Adam was dead.

**I didn't think I had it in me. But I actually killed him. But I seriously had to. Because I had no idea what else there was to do with him. I couldn't have him arrested, since he didn't really do anything bad. And letting him go would just be wrong on so many levels. He's the bad guy, so I killed him. **

**I kind of feel bad. But I guess the guy deserved it. And I'm just making animals appear everywhere aren't I? Anacondas…and jaguars…and cougars. Oh my.**

**I'd also like to let you guys know that this is NOT my last NT multi chapter story. Even though I said I was sticking to oneshots from now on. But my Plot Kitty is gnawing at my brain here.**

**I'll give you a hint to tell you what the next story will be about:**

**Aliiiennns.**

**And it's not going to be your typical "aliens invade earth" kind of story. Nope.**

**It's going to be interesting and different. I hope. **

**So I guess you guys can look forward to that. It'll be horror/suspense based.**

**P.S. – I had fun singing Ken's part to the song 'Barbie Girl' XD**


	11. Chapter 11

Woo

**Woo. So here's another update. Since I'm so nice and all. Ha.**

* * *

Dennis and Leon remained in the same position besides Adams corpse for a long time. Neither of them spoke or moved a muscle. They were both deep in thought and trying to figure out what to do. Adam was dead. They had lost their leader, the one who had all the answers, and they had no idea what to do. They also contemplated on what they would do with his body. If they tried to carry him, it was likely that his head would either snap off or flop around in a sickly fashion. Moving him, they decided, was definitely not an option.

"Maybe we should just leave him here…" Dennis mumbled softly.

"And let him be devoured by some predator? I don't think so." Leon's voice was sharp and snappy.

"Well we can't take him with us. What else is there to do?" Dennis demanded angrily.

Leon didn't answer. He was staring at the bloody mess that was once Adams throat. His eyes slowly trailed up to Adams face, which still held the expression of horror and defeat. Leon sighed and stood up shakily.

"Grab his feet." He ordered.

Dennis jumped to his feet. "What?! You don't honestly want to try and move him!"

"Yes, Dennis, I do." Leon said with a firm voice. "Now grab his feet. I'll handle his head."

Dennis hesitated for a brief moment before grabbing onto Adams legs. Leon carefully grabbed Adam under the arms and lifted. As expected, his head flopped backwards and was only supported by some flesh and bone. Dennis cringed when Leon grabbed Adams head and pushed it forward so it was lying on his chest. Moving forward, Leon made it so his mid section was made into a support for Adams head. Now, his head was unable to flop backwards and it also hid the ugly gash across his neck.

"Star walking that way." Leon ordered. Dennis slowly started to inch his way in the direction Leon had ordered.

* * *

"I think we should stop and rest now." Ben said once everyone had stopped rejoicing about their escape from the jungle. "For a few minutes anyway."

Adrian nodded. "Are you up for that, Ben? Your shoulder not bothering you too much?"

"It hurts, but it's nothing I can't handle."

"Okay. We'll stop for a few minutes then."

Ben felt a sense of relief wash over him. He looked around and saw that Riley had already sunk to the ground and was leaning lazily against a tree trunk. With a slight smile, Ben walked over and sat down beside him. Riley looked at him.

"Hello." He addressed nonchalantly.

"Hey." Ben responded. "How's your chest?"

"It's okay. How's your shoulder?"

"It's fine."

An awkward silence fell between the two and for a while, they both sat there lost in their own thoughts. Riley eventually broke the silence.

"So what about the treasure?" He asked.

"What about it?"

"I mean, I'm guessing Adam has it. But is that okay?"

Ben nodded and absently started to pluck grass out of the ground. "Yeah. I guess I am a little disappointed. But it's not the end of the world. I'm just glad we both made it out of their alive. Besides, there are plenty of other treasure hunts we can go on." Ben grinned.

Riley moaned. "Oh God. Please, Ben. No more treasure hunts."

Ben laughed. "Okay. I promise. No more treasure hunts."

Riley perked up, not expecting that answer. "Really?"

"Really. When we were going after the Templar treasure, I didn't really know you as good as I do now. But I still worried about you and Abby. I kept telling myself that I'd never forgive myself if something happened to one of you. And then the Renaissance treasure came along. And I dragged you along again. And this time, you were hurt. And to me, it's almost like I failed in my promise."

"What promise?"

"The promise I made to keep my little brother safe."

Riley fell silent, so Ben continued. "I guess these treasure hunts are more dangerous than you think. So from now on, I'm leaving you behind with Abby."

Riley shot Ben a look. "Wait. You mean leave me behind with Abby while you go and hunt for treasure?"

Ben nodded. Riley sat up from his leaned position. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. No way, Ben. If you're going on a treasure hunt, I'm coming with you."

"Riley, did you hear anything I just said? I don't want to hurt you anymore then I already have."

Riley shook his head in disbelief. "Yes Ben, I heard everything. But I'm not the only one who got hurt on this treasure hunt. You were shot in the shoulder, Ben."

"Yeah but – "

"Don't interrupt me. You say you made a promise to keep your little brother safe. Well now I'm making a promise; to keep my big brother safe. And if you think you're going alone on any future treasure hunts, think again. Because I'm coming with you no matter what."

Ben was shocked. He found it hard to believe that those words had just come out of Riley's mouth. The funny, sarcastic technical geek was actually being serious.

"Besides, "Riley continued. "I much rather come with you and get eaten by an anaconda than stay with Abby and your little munchkin."

Ben laughed softly. He missed Abigail. A lot more than he thought he might have. But that might have been because everything had gone so wrong and all he wanted was to get home to Abby and his future child.

"So – " Riley suddenly cut off and paused.

Ben felt dread start to wash out the relief he once felt. "What?" Riley didn't answer. "Riley?"

"Listen." Riley whispered.

Ben strained his ears and listened. It took him a while, but he was finally able to make out the crunching of leaves and twigs as well as hushed voices. He gave Riley a look before standing up. Riley did the same.

Alfred and Adrian had heard it too, because they were also standing and staring back at the jungle with watchful eyes. Alfred's hand rested on his gun as a preparation.

The voices drew closer and Ben instinctively grabbed onto Riley's arm. After another minute or so, the all too familiar Dennis and Leon emerged from the trees carrying what looked like a body. With a sudden realization, Ben saw that it was Adam they were carrying and his eyes had a faraway glazed look. Leon and Dennis came closer and stopped when they saw the others looking at him.

"Set him down." Leon told Dennis, who obeyed.

Adam was gently laid on the ground. His head lolled to the side reveling shredded flesh and blood all over his throat. Ben felt his stomach churn at the sight. Riley whirled around and started to gag. Adrian and Alfred were speechless and stared at the body with shocked eyes.

Ben felt as though he were going to vomit. The sight of Adam was gruesome. Riley had fallen to his knees and was bent over clutching his stomach as if he had already puked. Ben kneeled down beside him and put a reassuring hand on his back. He watched as Adrian and Alfred hesitantly approached Adams body. He felt sorry for them. The four men losing Adam was like Ben losing Riley. The very thought of a dead and bloody Riley sent shivers down his spine.

"What happened?" Ben heard Alfred ask softly.

"There was a cougar…" Dennis trailed off, as if that was the only thing that needed to be said.

Ben looked down at Riley. "You okay?" He asked.

"Yeah." Riley attempted to sneak another glance at Adam but ended up in the same position as he was before, on his knees and about to throw up.

When everyone finally got over the shock of Adam being dead after several long minutes, they began to continue their way towards town. No one even bothered to ask about the treasure.

Ben tried not to look at Adam, but his curiosity continued to win him over and he often found himself sick to his stomach. He only hoped he could control his inquiring mind for thirty more miles.

* * *

**Sooo. That's that. Nothing really happened, other than the fact that everyone's back and traveling together. So leave a nice little review and I'll see if I can update again tomorrow. :)**

**Oh, and my other story is coming along nicely. I've decided to go ahead and type the chapters out before posting. **


	12. Chapter 12

**Hello lovely reviewers.**

**Do you ever start writing a fanfic and you're completely in love with the movie you're writing about as well as the characters. And then before the fic is complete, you totally lose interest in the movie? I'm afraid that has happened to me. :( My love for National Treasure is pretty much gone. I still think it's a good movie, but I no longer label it as my number one like I did when I posted the first chapter of this fic.**

**But don't worry; I'm going to finish this story. One more chapter to go after this. I'm a bit sad. lol. **

**Also, I thought I'd let you know what has taken NT's place as my favorite movie of all time. Ready?**

**Star Wars!**

**Oh yes, I am a hardcore Star Wars fan at the moment. And I'm beginning to think this obsession won't ever go away. My love for Obi-Wan Kenobi/Ewan McGregor (hotttt!) is huge. Super, super huge. I love it. I'm actually annoying the heck out of my dad by watching the end of Episode III over and over again - from the part where Anakin kills Mace Windu until the end credits. **

**And I'm becoming a nuisance to my mom by humming the Star Wars theme very loudly while spinning around in circles wearing my bathrobe and acting like it's a Jedi cloak.**

**I have reason to believe that I've completely lost it.**

* * *

Riley wasn't sure if he could make it. He had already trailed silently behind the others for ten miles, unable to speak due to the reoccurring stab of pain in his chest which made his breath hitch every now and then. He sighed softly and focused on controlling his uneven breathing, not wanting to worry anyone or cause the group to take another break.

Ben hadn't spoken to him at all since their conversation. He wondered if the treasure hunter was in pain at all from his wound. He didn't act like it. He just trudged on as if the bullet had never hit him. But that was how Ben was, strong and never showing signs of pain. Inside, the older man was probably close to exhaustion. Luckily, Dennis had some bandages with him and was able to wrap Ben's shoulder to keep it from bleeding as much. It seemed to help, because some color had finally returned to his face.

Riley coughed silently into the back of his hand. In the past half hour or so, he seemed to have gotten a bad cough. Every now and then there would be a tickly itch in the back of his throat. It aggravated him to no extent and he only coughed when he could no longer stand it, and even when he did so the cough was soft and inaudible to his traveling companions.

Another tickle stared to form in his throat along with the irritating taste of mucus. He waited until the tickle became intense before coughing softly. After the cough, he felt the mucus still residing in his throat. He coughed again. Nothing was coming up, and the feeling of mucus in ones throat isn't something people like to live with. He coughed a little louder but not loud enough for anyone to hear. When the phlegm still wouldn't come up, he let out another cough. This time it was noticed. By Ben, of course. The man had stopped walking and was looking at Riley with a curious expression.

"Are you okay?" He asked and approached the younger man.

Riley nodded and tried to speak, but found his words gurgled and weak. He frowned and looked at Ben who had arched an eyebrow.

"Hey," Ben called out to the others. "We need to take a break."

The Germans all looked at each other and nodded reluctantly. Dennis and Leon gently lowered Adam's body to the ground while Alfred took a seat on the dirt covered ground.

"Is everything okay?" Adrian asked as he approached Ben.

Ben looked at Riley and nodded. "Yeah. Everything's fine. We just need a break."

Riley found it odd how Ben didn't mention his coughing, but he was grateful nonetheless. He plopped down on the ground and lay down on his back. He looked up at the sky and noticed that there wasn't a single cloud and the sky was a yucky, depressing grey color. He saw Ben sit down beside him, though he didn't lie down. They were silent for a little while. Riley was once again grateful that Ben wasn't talking about his cough. The last thing he wanted was for Ben to start worrying.

"How much longer do we have to walk?" Riley asked, breaking the long period of silence.

"Twenty more miles. Unless we get lucky and are able to hitchhike."

Riley sighed. "I really don't want to hitchhike. Ever watch The Hitcher? Not the one with Rutger Hauer, but the one with Sean Bean."

"Yeah, I've seen it. But that's not going to happen."

Riley scoffed. "That's what you said about Lost before we got lost in the jungle with a freakin' hatch in the ground."

"True."

Another long silence followed Ben's words. Riley looked at the sky again and saw the same grey clouds hovering over their heads. There was no doubt that it was getting late. The air had the same humid feel to it, and more insects were coming out. Riley figured they would make it to town by nightfall, unless they were eaten by mosquitoes first. Riley slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position despite his aching ribs. He glanced over at Ben and gave a slight nod, a signal to show that he was ready to move on. Ben nodded back and got to his feet. He outstretched a hand towards Riley. Riley took it and allowed the treasure hunter to haul him to his feet.

Within a few minutes, they were once again walking down the dirt road Ben and Riley had previously driven on with their rental car. A sudden realization hit Riley that they would probably have to pay for the damage caused to the car. He sighed. Things would be very difficult once they got to town.

* * *

Nineteen miles and three breaks later, Riley found that never before had he wanted to go to sleep as much as he did then. His ribs were no longer the only thing that hurt, but his feet, legs, and back as well. The constant walking was slowly taking its toll on his body. Everyone else seemed to be feeling the same. They each walked stiffly. Dennis and Leon had to switch places with Adrian and Leon for fear of dropping their dead friend. Riley glanced down at Adam's body for the first time in a while. You could barely make out the ugly gash on his throat with the surrounding darkness, but it was apparent that the flies and mosquitoes continuously buzzed around him. Riley wondered why Adam had gone through such lengths to get the treasure, other than the fact that his ancestor Alexis Basset had failed to find it. His thoughts were interrupted when Leon spoke.

"There's Teresina."

Riley looked ahead and saw the unmistakable sight of lights from various buildings. He didn't even bother to suppress his sigh of relief. Almost immediately everyone quickened their pace. Riley momentarily felt the pain in his chest go away as his attention focused on their destination ahead. It wasn't long before the small group was walking through the streets, catching strange looks from the people around them.

"We need a doctor." Alfred said.

"Adam's already dead, you idiot." Leon spoke harshly.

Alfred rolled his eyes. "For Ben and Riley genius."

Leon narrowed his eyes but said no more. Alfred looked at Ben.

"This town isn't real big, so no one even bothered to make a hospital. But there's a doctors office just down the road. You two can go and get patched up."

"Where are you going?" Ben asked.

Adrian shrugged. "First we're going to the police. Explain what happened so anybody who saw us with Adam won't report us and see us as murderers. I'll stop by the cafe to see if Ralph is hanging around somewhere. Then we'll fly back to Germany for Adam's funeral."

Ben nodded. Adrian, Alfred, Dennis, and Leon turned around and started to walk in the opposite direction. Ben called out to them.

"Hey, Adrian."

Adrian turned around and looked at Ben curiously.

Ben smiled slightly. "Thanks for everything."

Adrian grinned and gave a slight nod. "Glad to have helped."

Ben and Riley both watched as the four men strode off into the darkness. They waited for a few minutes; both wondering if they would ever see the unfortunate group again or if they had just said their final goodbyes. Riley, for one, didn't really care if he ever saw them again. They weren't exactly the nicest people to begin with. Adrian and Alfred were okay, decent enough to call an acquaintance, but they weren't the kind of people he would miss terribly.

"Let's head to the doctors." Ben finally said after another minute had passed.

Riley nodded and followed as Ben started off in the direction Adrian had instructed. Their walk was silent, both being too tired to think straight. Riley began to replay all that had happened in his mind. From his intense fear of airplanes to Adam's death. It was all too much. He shuddered when he remembered the anaconda, its hungry eyes peering at him from the waters surface. He was glad that it was dead and he and Ben were finally safe. He looked back over his shoulder in the direction of the forest. The tree line was impossible to make out in the dark, but he knew it was there. He realized that with proper equipment and knowledge of the area, the jungle might not have been such a bad thing. Once you got past the insects and the heat, it was truly a beautiful place to be. He only wished their stay had been so unfortunate.

Up ahead, only a few feet away, was the doctor's office. It didn't look like much at all. It might have been as big as a medium sized house. There was a glowing sign by the door with the word "Clinic" printed on the white exterior. Riley sighed. He hated doctors too. They always felt it was necessary to poke that thing in the back of your throat even if your throat wasn't the cause of your pain. Riley remembered when he had sprained his wrist as a kid. The doctor had bandaged his wrist, and then practically stabbed his throat with the fuzzy cutip.

A blast of cold air greeted the two as they stepped through the entrance. They both relished the feeling for a moment before continuing to the front desk. A middle aged woman sat in the chair, flipping through a magazine while tapping her pen against the desk. She looked up when she heard them approach. Her eyes widened at the sight of them.

"What can I do you for?" She asked politely as she looked them up and down, her eyes lingering for a moment on Ben's shoulder.

Ben raised his eyebrows. "We ran into some trouble in the jungle. We, uh, we need some help."

The lady nodded. "Follow me."

She turned on her heel and began walking down a white hallway, her heels making a loud clicking noise. She stopped beside a room and waited for them to enter. They both took a seat in two of the three chairs in the room.

"Dr. Phillips will be with you shortly." The receptionist gave them another odd look before leaving and shutting the door behind her.

Riley looked around the dull room with a sigh. He hated the little room. They always transferred someone from the big waiting room to the little waiting room. It made no sense to him. The little room was so...little, and boring. Luckily, it wasn't long before the doctor walked in with a peculiar expression.

"Hello," he greeted formally. "I'm Dr. Phillips." He looked at them both for the longest time. Riley could only imagine what they looked like. Dr. Phillips smiled a little. "I'm not even going to bother in asking what's wrong as it is clearly evident that you two need some medical attention pronto."

Riley couldn't help but smile slightly. Most doctors would be oblivious to such things, ignoring the gaping bullet hole in your shoulder or the pale skin and would kindly ask what was wrong, as if the blood oozing out of the patient wasn't enough.

Dr. Phillips checked Ben out first, prodding around his shoulder and pushing on the wound. Riley felt uncomfortable every time Ben either gasped in pain or squeezed his eyes shut. He wiggled uncomfortably in his seat until the doctor was finished and had begun wrapping a clean bandage around it.

"I fear our resources are very limited here." Dr. Phillips said when he finished. "But I can give you some medicine to lessen the pain. But I strongly suggest you get to an actual hospital as soon as you get home. There you can receive the proper treatment." He turned to face Riley. "Now, for you." He looked Riley up and down for a moment. "I don't see any severe injuries aside from a few scratches."

Riley shrugged. "An anaconda decided to give me a hug. My ribs are killing me."

"Did it bite you at all?" Dr. Phillips asked as he began to poke at Riley's chest.

"No." Riley winced as the doctor poked a particularly sore spot. It took a few minutes, but finally the doctor was able to make a statement.

"Nothing's broken or cracked. But you do have some serious bruising. You're lucky. Anacondas are known to crush their victims to death before swallowing them whole."

Riley and Ben both shuddered at the though. Dr. Phillips continued. "You'll be sore for a long time, and all I can do for you is wrap some bandages around your chest."

Riley nodded and allowed the medical expert to carefully wrap his ribs with the same cloth he had used for Ben's shoulder. When he was done, he stepped back and smiled.

"Do you have any idea what you two look like?" He asked, chuckling softly.

Ben and Riley both shook their head. Dr. Phillips laughed and motioned for them to follow him out of the room. Riley and Ben obeyed and soon found themselves standing in front of a hallway mirror.

Ben was the first to laugh. His hair was sticking up in every place imaginable and had dirt smeared all over his face. His clothes reeked of sweat and dirt as well as anaconda. His shirt was ripped in several places and was basically soaked with blood and sweat.

Riley wasn't any different. His hair was wet and caked with dirt and grime and stuck up in different places. His face had several dirty smudges on them. His clothes were tattered and soaked from the previous rain.

Ben and Riley both burst into a fit of hysterical laughter, pointing out small things on each other such as the small twig that was stuck in Ben's hair or the mud covered shoe of Riley. They leaned on the wall in order to keep themselves upright. It was the first genuine laugh they had shared in what felt like years.

* * *

The man behind the hotel desk wasn't at all pleased to see Ben and Riley covered from head to toe with dirt and blood. He wouldn't allow them to their room until they had showered and changed into some clean clothes. Even then he was hesitant of letting them go. But eventually he did, after much persuasion from Ben.

Their hotel room looked no different than before. Suitcases and bags were in the same position they had left them in. Riley and Ben looked at each other and chuckled softly.

"Not quite home, but it'll have to do." Ben said as he flopped down onto his bed, his body sinking into the soft mattress.

"I didn't realize how tired I was…." Riley mumbled from his own bed.

Ben knew what he meant. "Same here."

Simultaneously, they both pulled the covers back and crawled into bed. Within minutes, they were both sound asleep and finding comfort in each others presence.

* * *

**Sorry if any of you were expecting something huge to happen. I hate to disappoint. But there will be a huge thing happening in the next chapter, which is sadly the last chapter. But it's a good thing. :) You'll like it, hopefully.**

**Just to update anyone who's interested…the other National Treasure fanfiction I'm writing is coming alone **_**very**_** nicely. I'm very pleased with it. And I guarantee it'll be much better than this one. And far more exciting to read. There's about 6 or 7 new characters in it. And I'm pretty sure you're going to enjoy two of them. I'm proud of this next project.**

**But yeah, Star Wars is my new love. I'm a total geek. And I've got all sorts of fanfic ideas for the fandom. So before the next NT fic comes along, I might post a few Star Wars oneshots or something – or a multi chapter. I'm not really sure yet. There are so many ideas buzzing around in my head….**

**But I thought I'd let you guys know about possible future Star Wars fics, just in case you're subscribed to me. :) **


	13. Chapter 13

**Alas, 'tis the last chapter. I'm kind of glad this is done and over with, that way I can get to working on my other one. (4 chapters done already!)**

**And I apologize if I haven't been reading your guys stories. I'm falling behind on a few of you. I'm going to take some time this weekend to catch up.**

* * *

Riley woke up and immediately felt the aftereffects of walking thirty miles. His legs screamed in pain when he moved them. He groggily sat up and blinked the sleepiness out of his eyes. He glanced over at Ben's bed and found that the older man was already up. Ignoring the searing pain, Riley forced his legs to cooperate as he crawled out of bed. He stumbled slightly as he stood, but regained his balance after a moment. He heard the bathroom door open and close. Ben came out looking slightly ruffled and a little anxious. A relived expression came across his face when he saw Riley standing there.

"Thank God," he said with a smile. "I was beginning to think I would have to try and wake you up myself."

"I'm not that hard to wake up, am I?"

Ben raised his eyebrows and that was all the answer Riley needed. He smiled slightly when Ben tossed him a honeybun.

"Even though it was only a day, it feels like it's been a year since I ate this for breakfast."

Ben chuckled softly and unwrapped his own cake. "We can get some real food when we're on the plane."

Riley felt his stomach lurch. They still had to travel on plane all the way back home. His fear of airplanes was still there and it caused his heart to beat wildly. He swallowed a bite of honeybun and shook off the feeling. Hopefully he would be able to sleep most of the way.

Ben finished his breakfast and tossed away the wrapper. "Your things are already packed. You didn't really take anything out when he got here. So whenever you're ready, we can be on our way."

Riley nodded, not wanting to speak since he had a mouthful of cake. He inwardly smiled in a very smug-like manner as he realized what Abigail's reaction would be if he ever did something like that with her around. He made a note to remember that at Thanksgiving. After a few more bites of his food, Riley was finished with his breakfast and found that his stomach still growled hungrily. He silently prayed the airlines had decent food.

* * *

Riley continued to pray for some kind of meal even when he and Ben were seated on the plane. He glanced nervously out the window and shifted uncomfortably. Ben noticed this and nudged him gently, careful to avoid his ribs.

"Want to switch?" Ben asked softly.

Riley waited for a moment then nodded. Quickly and wordlessly, he and Ben switched seats so that Riley was no longer sitting by the window.

"Thanks." He muttered as his stomach roared at him. He was certain that if he didn't get some food soon, he would die of hunger.

There was a slight rumble as the plane began to lift off the ground. Riley felt the unsettling feeling return to his stomach has the plane ascended towards the sky. He looked down at his knees in a attempt to keep his gaze away from the window. The passing clouds did nothing to ease his fear of heights; it only reminded him of how high up they were. He had to force the thoughts of a plane crash out of his mind. If he thought about silly things like that, he would surely have a nervous breakdown before the trip was over.

Riley and Ben both felt a sense of relief wash over them when a flight attendant came by with a cart full of food. The flight attendant was kind enough to allow them to grab handfuls of food from the tray. Once they finished organizing their meal, they thanked her and began to eat. Anyone who was watching would swear that the two men were rather inhuman by the way they ate. They acted as though it was their first meal in years, which, considering what they had been through, it kind of was. They ate in silence, both relishing in the feeling of a full stomach. When they were done, they set their trays aside and sunk back in their seats. The flight attendant soon came back for the trays. She asked them if they would like anything else.

Ben nodded. "Could I please have a pillow and a blanket?"

"Of course." She turned to Riley. "How about you?"

"Uh, same for me." Riley said softly, unable to make eye contact with the stunning woman.

The flight attendant smiled and went to fetch their blankets and pillows. Ben was grinning like an idiot as he looked at Riley.

"What?" Riley asked sheepishly.

"You should ask her out."

"What?? Ben, I don't even know her name."

"You should do it."

"Ben!"

"She won't bite."

"Ben, I'm not going to ask her out!"

Riley felt his cheeks redden when he realized that the flight attendant was back and staring at them both with an odd expression. Riley wanted nothing more than to melt into a puddle right there.

"I hate you, Ben." Riley whispered, giving his friend a glare.

Ben tried to hide his smile. "I know you do."

The flight attendant cleared her throat and smiled. "Here are your pillows. There was only one blanket left, so I reckon you two will have to share."

Riley felt his face redden even more and he was positive that Ben's had taken on a pinkish hue as well. Riley snatched the blanket from her and waited for her to leave. Ben reached over and grabbed an edge of the blanket and draped it over his own body. Riley did the same after adjusting his pillow. At first, Ben was hogging most of the cover. Riley gave the thin sheet a good yank and pulled it up to his chin. Ben pulled back and it soon became a mini game of tug-o-war. They whispered at each other, both arguing over the blanket and fussing over how much more cover the other had. There were a few threats when Ben took the entire blanket for himself. But eventually, they came to a solution. They both moved closer to one another (as much as the chair arm would allow) and draped the cloth over both of their bodies.

Fifteen minutes later, the flight attendant had to stop and stare in awe when she saw both Ben and Riley fast asleep; both snuggled together with their heads touching. She couldn't help it when she pulled out her phone and snapped a quick picture.

* * *

The plane landed with a jolt, scaring the life out of Riley and Ben. They reacted so violently to the landing of the plane that they conked heads. With a groan, they both whipped the blanket off of their bodies and stood up once the plane came to a complete stop. They folded the blanket as neatly as they could and fluffed the pillows before handing them back to the flight attendant. She smiled and watched them gather their suitcases and exit the plane. After a second's hesitation, she called after the shorter one and quickly scribbled her number down onto a piece of paper. She handed it to him with a smile before telling him that her name was Brooke.

Riley let out an exasperated sigh as he shoved the paper into his pocket and walked out of the airport beside Ben. "I _really_ hate you, Ben."

Ben laughed. "I know, Riley."

Riley couldn't help but silently thank Ben. He honestly did think the girl was cute. He only hoped that she wasn't just being nice just because she'd overheard their little conversation about asking her out.

It took a long time to find their car; neither of them could fully remember where they had parked. After a long while of searching, they finally found it parked beside a large red truck. Ben pulled the keys out of his bag and unlocked it. Riley slid into the passenger side just as Ben started the engine.

"Feels good to be back in our own car, doesn't it?" Ben asked as he backed out of the parking lot.

"Yeah. It's an especially good feeling to know that it wasn't made in Germany."

Ben laughed out loud at the remark. Riley smiled and shifted his position in away to prevent his behind from falling asleep. For the longest time, he stared out of the window and watched the buildings and parked cars fly by. He couldn't wait to get back to his own small, cozy, shabby apartment.

The drive back home wasn't too bad. Riley's butt had indeed fallen asleep despite his upright position, but otherwise it was a perfectly normal drive. Except for the small argument they both had about which radio station to listen to. In the end they had decided to just turn it off. They were over it by the time they pulled into the driveway of Ben's house, which seemed so foreign to them even though they had only spent a little over a day away from it.

When they entered the house, a very pregnant Abigail came waddling towards them with a large grin on her face and a hand on her swollen belly. Ben greeted her with the biggest hug Riley had ever seen. Abigail returned the hug with the same intensity. She didn't even bother to hug Riley, mainly because she saw Ben's gunshot wound and started to freak out.

"Ben! What happened?! How did you get hurt?! You were only gone for a day for pity's sake! Jesus, Riley are you hurt at all? You two should be more careful!"

Questions flew at them about a hundred miles per second. She was babbling and telling them to be more careful and how dangerous treasure hunting is and a bunch of other things Riley didn't bother listening to.

"Abby! Abby, calm down!" Ben nearly had to yell over Abigail's endless ranting. "We're okay!

Abigail suddenly clutched her belly with a look of pain. She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment then reopened them. Ben looked down at her, concerning clouding over his features.

"Are you okay?" He asked gently as he led her to the sofa in the living room.

Abby nodded. "Yes, yes. I'm fine. The baby's been kicking all day. I can't – AHHHHH!"

The pregnant woman's scream echoed through out the house. It took Riley by surprise and he stumbled backwards, tripping over a pile of shoes and landing on his bottom. He stared up at Ben and Abigail with uncertainty.

"Oh, God." Ben took hold of Abigail's hand. "Abby? Are you okay?"

Abigail didn't answer and instead, squeezed her eyes shut as another wave of pain hit her midsection. "Oh God, Ben." She rasped. "I think…." She took in a deep breath to calm her nerves. "I think I'm going into labor..."

Riley was positive that he would have fallen over if he wasn't already seated on the floor. He looked at Ben who gave him a tired look before helping Abby to her feet.

"Riley, go start the car!"

Riley leapt to his feet and took off out the door. He skidded to a stop, which nearly sent him sliding off the front stoop when he realized Ben had the keys. He darted back into the house and nearly fell flat on his face when he stumbled over the welcome mat.

"Keys!" He managed to yell.

A chain full of silver keys came hurtling at him out of nowhere. Riley fumbled to catch them, missed, and spent a good minute looking for them. With a grim expression, he realized they had fallen into someone's boot. Ben and Abigail were waiting impatiently for him, Abby trying to suppress screams.

Riley hesitated before reaching into the smelly boot which probably belonged to Ben, but Abigail's shrill voice sprung him into action.

"GET THE KEYS!" She roared, her eyes bulging out as another contraction came.

Riley reached into the boot and pulled the keys out. He sprinted off towards the car and climbed into the driver's seat. He started the engine just as Ben and Abigail climbed into the backseat. He pulled out of the driveway and mad ea right turn.

"Left, Riley! The hospital is left!" Ben yelled

"Okay, okay! Where can I turn around at?" Riley looked around for another driveway of some sort.

"JUST TURN AROUND IN THE DAMN FIELD!!" Abigail was screaming wildly as the contractions became worse.

Scared and confused, Riley turned the car around in the middle of the road and stomped on the gas.

"Which way do I go?" Riley asked as calmly as he could when he came to an intersection.

"Uh," Ben's mind raced for the answer. He wasn't fully functioning in the midst of all that had happened in the last five minutes. "Go straight."

"I think the hospital is left."

"I think it's straight."

"How do you know?"

"I'm pretty sure."

"I think it's left…"

"No. I'm positive that we go –"

"GO RIGHT!!" Abigail shrieked in anger and slammed her palm into the back of Riley's seat.

Riley obeyed the woman he now called a 'pregnant beast' and made a right turn. He went as fast as he could and soon, the large, white hospital came into view. Ignoring the threats from Abigail, he parked as close to the front doors as he could and climbed out of the car. With a shocked expression, he realized that Ben and Abby were already at the front doors and were now entering.

'_Pregnant woman are demanding…' _Riley thought grimly as he followed the two.

Several doctors gave the shrieking Abigail odd looks as Ben led her to the front desk. After a lot of complaining from Abigail, and a lot of impatience from Ben, Abby was finally admitted to a hospital room to deliver the baby.

On the way to Room 114, a doctor stopped Ben before he could go any further. Ben protested but was held back by the man in scrubs.

"Sir! You're not allowed to enter the pregnancy ward with that wound."

Riley glanced at Ben's shoulder-wound and realized that it had started bleeding again. He gave Ben a fearful look. The doctor told Ben he would have to be admitted into a room of his own for sanitary reasons, and so his gunshot wound could be properly treated. The doctor steered Ben away from Riley and Abby. Ben glanced back and gave Riley a look he wouldn't soon forget. Riley sighed.

He was going to have to help Abigail through the pregnancy on his own

* * *

It took all of Riley's manpower to keep from crying out as Abigail squeezed his hand so tightly he could feel the circulation being cut off.

"Very good, very good. Push!" A doctor was instructing Abigail.

Abigail squeezed Riley's hand viciously and pushed with all her might. Riley felt as though his hand was going to break off. He tried to readjust her grip on him, but it was useless to go against a pregnant woman. They were a totally different species.

"Push!"

Abigail pushed harder and squeezed harder. Riley sunk down to his knees and pressed his forehead against Abby's bed. Whoever said woman were weak had obviously never been in the presence of a woman giving birth. Abigail squeezed his hand harder and he felt a searing pain in his hand.

"I can see the head!" The doctor announced." Push!"

Abigail screamed and squeezed Riley much harder than she had previously. This time, Riley couldn't suppress his own scream any longer.

"Ahh!" He tried to squirm away from the hospital bed. "Let go, let go, let go!"

"Very good, Abigail! One more! Push!"

Riley let his jaw drop when Abigail squeezed once more. "Give me my hand back!" he yelped and tried to wiggle out of her grasp. "Agh! At least loosen your grip a bit! You're –"

"SHUT UP!!" Abigail looked at Riley with a beat read face and wide eyes. Her hair was a tangled mess and sweat poured form every part of her body.

"Okay, just one more push!"

Abigail screamed, Riley screamed, and a newborn baby wailed.

Abby let go of Riley's hand as the baby was delivered. Riley fell back onto the floor, cradling his hand and scooting as far away from Abigail as possible. The baby was crying very loudly and could probably be heard from a mile away. As the doctors cleaned the child up, Abigail panted heavily after the extended turmoil she had just been through. Riley figured he had gone through more pain than she did. His hand was throbbing and felt as though it had its own heartbeat. He gave Abby a cold stare for doing so much damage to his hand.

Abigail looked at him and smiled faintly, still panting. "Thank you, Riley."

Riley couldn't help but lessen his death stare and smile back. He nodded, not really having the strength to say anything.

A small being wrapped in a bundle of blue was handed to Abigail. Abby took it with a joyous look on her face. The small child whimpered in her arms. Curiously, Riley stood up and peeked at the tiny baby. The kid had startling blue eyes, and a head full of blonde hair. The baby gurgled and reached out a hand to grab onto Abigail's finger. Abby smiled and looked at Riley thankfully. Riley smiled back.

"Can I get you some ice for your hand?" A sweet voice piped up from behind Riley.

Riley was shocked to see a pretty, young nurse looking at him expectantly. He nodded and the girl flashed him a smile before leaving to retrieve his ice.

When she returned, she held a bag of ice in one hand, and a slip of paper in the other. She handed both to Riley. Riley glanced at the paper and realized it was her phone-number as well as neatly printed writing that read 'Call Me', with a little heart drawn off to the side. The nurse smiled sweetly at Riley and left. Riley took a shaky breath and shoved the number into his pocket along with the flight attendants.

* * *

Ben fidgeted the entire time the doctors were treating his wound. They asked him all sorts of questions and gave him all sorts of instructions. But Ben barely listened. He was far too busy concentrating on the shrill screams coming from what he knew was his wife. After several minutes another scream joined hers. Ben frowned when he realized it was Riley. What on Earth was Abby doing to him?

The doctor finally allowed Ben to enter Abby's room. And when he did, he was met with the most precious sight he had ever seen. There in the hospital bed sat his lovely wife as well as his new child, his son. He looked around and saw that Riley was sitting in a chair with an ice pack on his hand, looking slightly confused and happy at the same time.

Ben walked over to where Abby sat and took a seat next to her in the bed. The baby was wide awake and was searching the room with bright eyes. When Ben appeared in the baby's line of vision, he made a squeaky noise.

Ben was stricken with affection. "What did you name it?" Ben asked softly.

Abigail paused for a moment. "Nathan." She finally said.

Ben smiled and looked down at Nathan Gates. Nathan had his eyes closed, his small hand curled into a little fist. Ben found the small boy adorable.

After about ten minutes, Riley finally stood up with his ice pack and said he was going home.

"Why?" Ben asked, slightly concerned as to what might make his friend leave so soon.

Riley only shrugged. "I need to decide between a flight attendant and a doctor."

With that said, Riley fled the room. Ben had no idea what he was talking about, but he pushed the confusing action of his friend aside and concentrated on the small bundle of joy in Abigail's arms.

_**The End.**_

* * *

**I hope you liked that chapter. :) Sorry for any spelling mistakes.**

**Well, now I need to thank everyone.**

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**And to anyone else who might favorite or review this after I post this final chapter…**

**I LOVE YOU ALL!! **

**Seriously, without you guys, I never would have continued this. You guys are absolutely amazing and I adore every single one of you. Your reviews have been wonderful and I'm really glad you enjoyed it. :) I also got a kick out of some of your usernames…heheh.**

**Now if you'd be so kind, click that little review button and tell me what you think. :)**

**I guess I won't be seeing you guys until I finish my next story.**

**Until then! :D**


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